Ryan Field

Raw Preview; HUDDLE: Football Anthology by Lori Perkins

2012-02-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

(Update: Just received an e-mail where you can purchase the book here. And I'll post more links as I get them)

Every year around this time...Superbowl Sunday...Lori Perkins edits and publishes a new football anthology. While I was going over final edits, I asked if I could write a post with a preview and include her raw introduction. The answer was yes.

I've been in all the football anthologies since Lori started doing this, and I'm in the new one again this year. I don't have a cover yet and I don't have all the exact details. But I will post them soon. The title is: HUDDLE: EROTIC TALES OF FOOTBALL MENAGE. And I've read all the stories already while I was checking my own edits. I loved them. A few are written by authors I've read before and always enjoy...(Lisa Lane).

For now, here's the raw intro, below that is an excerpt from my story, SUPERBOWL SUNDAY AT THE GAY BAR.

Who doesn’t love Super Bowl Sunday? Too much beer and booze, food that’s proven to be bad for you, and a smorgasbord of beautiful, well-toned man-ass on big screen TV. And everybody’s loving it. In public. Does it get much better than this?

Well, yes, if you read the stories in this sizzling anthology of football love and lust.

This year’s football sextravagnza features threesomes (and a foursome) of all kinds by some of our favorite Ravenous Romance authors. Johnny Murdoc returns with his M/M/M high school farewell, while husband and wife writing team of Lisa and Tommy Lane show us, in explicit detail, what happens when the power goes out while watching the game. Derek Clendening gives us some tail at a Tailgate Party, and Courney Sheets lets us into the opposing team’s locker room just before a big game. Ryan Field shows us what a gay Super Bowl party is like, and Stacy Brown serves up some very Hot Wings for two old flames.

So, grab a beer, a handful of Doritos, and enjoy!

Excerpt:

By the time my third Super Bowl Sunday party at the bar approached, I was a senior in Princeton and I’d already made a few close friends that I would hang out with at the gay bar on weekends. One of those friends was a feather of a guy named Joe Kremlish. Joe had mousy brown hair that always looked a little greasy and mussed, a long thin face with a square jaw, and the smallest, beadiest eyes I’ve ever seen on a human being. His body was rail thin and he stood with a slump, which created a sunken chest look. He wore loose stucco painter paints and beige jackets whenever he went to the bar. Though to look at him most people would never have guessed he was gay, he tended to speak with a slight lisp. When someone made a risqué comment he would blush, lean over, and cover his mouth with his hand. Sometimes I used to say shocking things on purpose, just to see his typical reaction.
My nickname for him became Mary Joe. It wasn’t meant in a derogatory way. It was more of a good-natured, affectionate campy reference, because he was always so skittish about everything. He reminded me of a timid little girl named Mary Joe in a book I’d once read. He didn’t go to Princeton with me. He was a few years older and he’d already graduated from Rutgers in New Brunswick. He worked at a posh hotel in Princeton at the front desk. I met him one night during my junior year after I’d tricked with a pharmaceutical salesman who worked for Johnson & Johnson. After we fucked, the salesman checked out of the hotel, walked me to my car, and patted me on the ass. I never saw him again either. But when I climbed into my car and realized I’d left my watch on a nightstand in the hotel room, I went back inside to see if I could go up and retrieve it before the maid went in to clean up the mess.
Mary Joe was working the front desk that night. I’d seen him before at the bar in New Hope and I knew he was gay. I flirted with him, made a few jokes about the salesman’s big dick that made him blush, and he let me go back to the room to get my watch. After that, we struck up an unlikely friendship and started meeting at the bar in New Hope every Friday and Saturday night. It was nice to have a friend to stand around with and talk to when there was nothing else going on. Neither one of us were heavy drinkers; we didn’t care too much about dancing in the disco. We both usually went home alone, but always with smiles on our faces because we’d entertained each other all night.
On the night of the Super Bowl Sunday party during my senior year at Princeton, I phoned Mary Joe at the hotel and told him I’d meet him at the bar earlier than usual that night. He took a quick, nervous breath and told me his sister in Lawrenceville had invited him to a Super Bowl party at her house, along with his Uncle Harv and Aunt Nan. I laughed and said, “Are you joking? You’re going to sit in your sister’s house, with her screaming little kids, eat bad food on paper plates with plastic utensils, drink beer, and listen to the straights during halftime when you could be with me in New Hope surrounded by hot men all night? Have you lost your mind, dude?”

Billy Ray Cyrus Signs with Amazon: Book Deal

2012-02-03T07:10:00.000-08:00

Here's the link to HuffPost.

Here's part of the article:

Amazon.com, which has been aggressively expanding its publishing operation, announced Thursday that Cyrus would discuss with "great candor" everything from his early years to life as the parent of a teen superstar. Cyrus and his daughter starred together in the hit TV series "Hannah Montana."

I'm a huge Billy Ray Cyrus fan. I will most likely read the book. As a reader, I don't care who publishes it. I'll even pay full price for the digital version of a celeb auto bio/memoir because I love reading them.

However, I am curious about whether or not Billy Ray has a literary agent. How did he get this deal? Did he contact Amazon through his entertainment agent? Was there a collaboration? Did his manager do the work? I've read about other celebrities who have signed with Amazon and I've never seen a literary agent mentioned. I do know that Amazon does work with agents. I've never seen how any of these deals transpired and I'm curious.

I'm going to ask around and try to find out. If I get an answer, I'll update the post.

(Update: I did ask, and I received an answer. In short, these books are shopped by literary agents the same way they've always been shopped. They go out on submission to publishers, including Amazon. Evidently, Amazon won another round this time.)

2012 Rainbow Book Fair...

2012-02-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

The photo above contains the book plates I have to sign and mail back to someone who will be at the 2012 Rainbow Book Fair in New York this March. These are book plates for my publisher, loveyoudivine.com. For those who don't know, book plates are now what authors and publishers often use for signed autographs. With digital books, because there are no actual books for authors to sign, readers who love digital books collect signed book plates and keep them in a variety of ways. Some have albums; others stick them right to their e-readers. I know that if Jonathan Franzen sent me a signed book plate, I'd paste it to my chest and show it to everyone and anyone I met.

But I digress. check out the link to the 2012 Rainbow Book Fair. And if you're going to be in Manhattan that weekend, you might want to stop by. I'm trying to figure out a way to be there myself. I'm supposed to be out of town until the 30Th of March. But if I can make it I will post about it here on the blog beforehand.

Upcoming Blog Events at Frost Lord

2012-02-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

Anyone who follows me knows I'm not in one place all the time. I'm just as likely to post about a publishing related piece like agents publishing their clients work as I am to post about the horrific rat situation in New York.

I love to follow "Frost Lords," for a variety of reasons I've talked about before. And I just saw a link to a few interesting blog events that revolve around authors who blog.

Rather than link directly to each event, here's the link to "Frost Lords."

Edwardian Era and Homosexuality: Unmentionable

2012-02-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

It's no mistake that I titled my new release with Loveyoudivine.com, UNMENTIONABLE: THE MEN WHO LOVED ON THE TITANIC. One hundred years ago, even a hint of homosexuality was considered taboo in all circles of society. And if you consider the social class distinctions of the Edwardian era, it becomes even more complicated.

First, I did a fair share of research on the Edwardian era for this book, on top of what I already knew. According to wiki, the Edwardian era ran from l901 - l910. If you read on, you'll see some believe the Edwardian era extended to the sinking of the Titanic...or to the beginning of WWI. And I read an interesting comment thread yesterday where others extend the era even longer. I've never believed that eras begin and end at one set time in history, so I'm going to refer to this story as a historical set during the Edwardian era and take sides with those who believe the era extended until WWI.

Obtaining this information was the easiest part of writing this story. The hardest part was trying to figure out how homosexual men would have lived in 1912. There's obviously very little information out there because men who loved other men in 1912 didn't discuss this openly...ever. What little information I could find was either a string of jokes about gay men on comment threads or bizarre opinions I didn't think could be trusted. And though more than a few things have been written about homosexuality in the Victorian era, there's very little for the Edwardian era. I would assume this is partly because most are more familiar with the Victorian era and they often either include the Edwardian era with the Victorian era...or confuse it with the Victorian era.

Unfortunately, I find distinct differences between the Victorian era and the Edwardian era. This is why I love the Edwardian era so much. So a good deal of my story about men who loved on the Titanic is fiction that was based on what I could pilfer from the basic information I could get about fashion, trends, and lifestyles during that time period. I didn't get into social class much in this book, and that's mainly because both characters are from similar social classes. This time social class didn't play a huge role in the storyline for me. The conflict, for me, was more about how homosexual men had to hide their true feelings and emotions, and the lengths to which they had to stoop in order to protect themselves.

But I did find one film review web site that had some fascinating information. It's a review of the film "Maurice," titled, "Merry Old England," written by, Michael D. Klemm. You can get there from here. I can almost guarantee that even if you aren't a fan of historicals and the Edwardian era, you'll find this article/review interesting.

To state the obvious, early twentieth century Edwardian England was not a good time to be gay. The climate was so bad that noted novelist E.M. Forster began writing a book with a homosexual hero in 1913 that he never published in his lifetime.

Interesting Facts: Gay Pride

2012-02-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

I've posted something like this before, but I never seem to get enough of these things. And someone e-mailed me and asked me to post about gay pride again. So I'm doing it now.

I always felt cheated, in a way, because I missed out on all the beginnings of gay pride. For this reason, I rarely ever write about it in fiction. But I'm going to have to rectify this soon. It's part of the culture and it's the one time most of us can all come together and be one.

Here's the link.

Here's an interesting fact from the link:

The original rainbow flag had eight colors. It included hot pink and turquoise, symbolizing sexuality and art. These colors were taken out later due to production constraints and the need for design symmetry.

Here's another link about the history of gay pride.

And here's an excerpt:

After the Stonewall riots in 1969, many LGBT people—even those that did not witness the rebellion—were inspired to contribute to the cause. Gay rights had entered the national spotlight. LGBT people began organizing, protesting and mobilizing. On July 4, 1969, a year after the Stonewall riots, the Mattachine Society along with Frank Kameny, Craig Rodwell, Randy Wicker, Barbara Gittings, Kay Lahusen and many others, picketed in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia in what was called the Annual Reminder. The protest was quiet and organized to the dismay of Craig Rodwell who felt Frank Kameny and Mattachine's methods of calm protest were not enough.

Jon Fleming: Violence of the Mind

2012-01-31T17:24:00.000-08:00

I received a notification the other day that looked interesting. This surprised me because most notifications don't interest me much. But this one was from Jon Fleming. The notification directed me to this link on facebook.

You can also find out more about Jon Fleming at this FB link.

You can follow him on twitter here.

If this isn't enough, check him out here, too.

The reason why I'm posting about Jon right now is because he sent me a film clip with info about "Violence of the Mind," and it blew me away. It was so good I watched it three more times.

Here's the most basic info I can post about right now:

When Sebastian Youngstrum (Ryan Kibby) meets the older, handsome Max Taymer, (Jon Fleming) a forbidden world awakens in the mind of the young man. The line between fantasy and reality is blurred when experimentations in taboo sex go too far. Sebastian wants more and Max is more than willing to lead him down the path of torture, pain and even murder.

Here's a link that will take you to the film clip I'm talking about. Trust me on this, check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Fred Karger: Openly Gay Presidential Candidate Still Running

2012-01-31T16:06:00.000-08:00

As I write post this, Fred Karger, an openly gay man, is still running for President of the United States.

According to this e-mail I received earlier today:

I have known Fred for 20 years and have watched him closely the last two years as he has crisscrossed this country dozens and dozens of times as a candidate for President. He is constantly fighting the good fight for so many of us.

Today Fred is celebrating his 62nd birthday in Detroit – 2,200 miles away from home. In fact, he has been campaigning all over Michigan this past week for the February 28th Michigan Primary. Fred is one of only 6 candidates still running who will be on the Michigan ballot.

I asked him this morning what he would like for his birthday, and he replied, “I could sure use a contribution to our campaign. We need to make our Michigan commercials and buy TV time here right away.”

I thought I would surprise Fred with a $62.00 contribution to “Fred Karger for President.” I hope that you will contribute too and celebrate all that he has done.

Let’s surprise Fred by raising $10,000 today! Please send in $62.00, or whatever you can afford to make this a very happy birthday for our friend.

Thank you for your support.

Here's the link if you are so inclined to contribute. This is Fred Karger's web site and you can also read more about him there.

Another Agent Going Digital: Nelson Literary Agency

2012-01-31T08:41:00.000-08:00

Last July I wrote a post titled, Are Literary Agents Going Country? Basically, it was about how literary agents are not only embracing digital books now, but how they are actively getting involved in digital publishing themselves.

And now the Nelson Literary Agency just made this announcement. They call it evolving. Sounds to me more like another one went country.

I have no strong comments to offer. It's an honest post.

I don't even have a huge opinion to offer. I believe authors need to take responsibility for themselves and make their own decisions. But I do know this: if you are an author and you want to get a back listed book out in digital format, or you are an author and you want to self-publish a digital book, you don't need an agent to do this for you. You can skip the fees and do it yourself.

In fact, I have a very good friend who has been self-publishing his own books on Amazon. He used to be an editorial client and I had to stop editing his books because I didn't have time. But I may start a series of blog posts about his experience in self-publishing through Amazon, and I won't charge a dime for it...and I won't ask you to sign anything so I can get a commission. I may even make this a top priority for this coming year. Evidently, a lot of authors don't know much about self-publishing, including me.

Jonathan Franzen Claims E-Books "May" Be Bad for Society

2012-01-31T07:05:00.000-08:00

First, the article to which I'm linking sounds as though it almost wants Mr. Franzen to hate e-books. But after reading his comments in full I didn't walk away with that impression. His comments and opinions read more like what I hear from many people about e-books: they just aren't sure about them yet.

This is understandable. I felt the same way about e-books five years ago. Because I couldn't hold a tangible item in my hands...a physical print book...it didn't seem as relevant to me. From what I hear, this is allegedly a huge problem with book pirates in Russia. They can't hold and feel the digital books so they think nothing of pirating them to see if they want to buy the print books.

Oddly enough, Jonathan Franzen's FREEDOM was, indeed, one of the last print books I read, and might possibly ever read. I'm not joking when I say this either. The thought of going back and reading a print book, especially a huge print book like FREEDOM, makes my stomach tighten.

Here's a small excerpt from the article with Franzen:

“I think, for serious readers, a sense of permanence has always been part of the experience. Everything else in your life is fluid, but here is this text that doesn’t change."

Once again, I thought along these same line, too...at one time. But the moment I bought my first digital reader, a Kobo basic e-reader in e-ink, I was absolutely amazed at how much it felt like a book. In fact, for me it was almost an old fashioned experience. And, for the record, Kobo does not pay me to endorse them.

I now read everywhere and take my entire library with me. After having published over 84 works of fiction, I've experienced eye strain and can't see a thing without reading glasses. I'm forty and I worry about the future of my eyes. My e-reader made a world of difference. I can adjust the print to suit my needs. I don't have to strain anymore. Since I switched to digital books I've read in medical offices, hospitals, car dealerships, on public transportation, and on the beach. Before digital books, I had to set time aside to read, which always bothered me because I don't have that much time to spare.

Here's another comment by Franzen those who are unfamiliar with e-books often make:

“Maybe nobody will care about printed books 50 years from now, but I do. When I read a book, I’m handling a specific object in a specific time and place. The fact that when I take the book off the shelf it still says the same thing - that’s reassuring."

People will always care about printed books. I still do. They are just going to care in a different way. I fully understand the feeling of holding a printed book in a specific time and place. However, when I started reading my first e-book on my first basic e-reader, it shocked me at how this feeling remained the same. I didn't feel cheated. I didn't feel as if what I was reading was anything less than if it had been printed in hard copy. And the fact that I didn't have to take it off a shelf reassured me even more, especially when I grasped the magnitude of the fact that I can, without hassles or sitting in traffic, buy any book I want with just one simple click. I like this power as a reader. I like knowing I have this power. I also like knowing I don't have to suffer through the screams and yells of kids running around large brick and mortar bookstores that sell toys and stuffed animals.

Franzen added this:

“Someone worked really hard to make the language just right, just the way they wanted it. They were so sure of it that they printed it in ink, on paper. A screen always feels like we could delete that, change that, move it around. So for a literature-crazed person like me, it’s just not permanent enough.”

Once again, I "get" it. This is something I would have said, with both pride and attitude, five years ago. And at that time, I was actually writing digital books. You can imagine my own personal dilemma. Here I was writing them and getting them published and I didn't know the first thing about how people were reading them. After reading the quotes in this article by Franzen, I have to admit that I do take a small amount of satisfaction in knowing I once felt the same way he feels now. In other words, I can't blame the guy. (But this could also be due to the fact that I love his work so much he can do no wrong.)

I've read both FREEDOM and THE CORRECTIONS by Franzen. I posted about FREEDOM, here, last February...almost a year to the date I'm writing this post. I loved both books. I love the way Franzen writes. I'm not going to get into anything else because this isn't a review. But the one thing I regret is that I didn't read FREEDOM in digital. I would have enjoyed it more because I wouldn't have had to deal with a huge bulky book in my hands. I did, however, buy the digital version for my digital library at a later date. I might not read it again for a long time, but I know it's there and I can whenever I want. I now have three digital reading devices that range from e-ink to a tablet. They are all hooked up together and I now have three digital copies of FREEDOM. I can't take them down from a shelf; all I have to do is press a button.

I have no regrets about joining the digital age of publishing, as a reader or a published author who's been around for a long time. It's only improved the quality of my life. But I would have argued that point to the bitter end five years ago.

Cheaterville: A Web Site for Adultery

2012-01-30T07:23:00.000-08:00

Someone told me about this web site called "Cheaterville," and I figured I'd post a link. I don't know much about it, so I'm not commenting one way or the other.

Except for this: Last week I linked to a post written by this guy who not only knocks the romance genre, but also feels as though he's somehow above it. I'm not mentioning his name in this post. I don't want to give him that kind of attention again. But check out the post, and below is a quote from his post.

After my last post about, not only the dreadful writing associated with romance novels, but the often deadly message they bring glorifying everything from adultery to incest,

Once again, I find it interesting to read something like this, especially when most romance novelists and readers stay away from books with adultery.

In any event, check out "Cheaterville." And if you know someone who is cheating on his or her spouse/partner, you might want to examine it even further.

Someone once asked me if gay couples consider it cheating if they've been together for a long time and they aren't legally married. I had to laugh, as if being legally married is where the line is drawn for cheating. I replied with the question: Do straight couples who aren't married and consider themselves in a monogamous relationship consider it cheating when one of them has an affair? What about engaged straight couples?

Unless there is some kind of an open relationship with an agreement where everyone is happy, it works just the same way for gays as it does straights. The sad fact is that people who cheat were wired that way from birth. Most go to their graves this way. I have no problem with open relationships and anything you want as long as both parties in the relationship agree to it. But I have very little tolerance for cheaters and sneaks.

Things Authors Should Know About Social Media

2012-01-29T16:19:00.000-08:00

I ran across an interesting blog post titled, 25 Things You Should Know About Social Media. You can get there from here.

I agree with most of the things in this post, especially this one:

Writers are content creators, and so it behooves us to share what we love. You’re generally better off showing positivity rather than sowing the seeds of negativity. For the most part, the Internet is a monster that thrives the rage of countless disaffected white people, so I don’t know that it does a writer good to be a part of that noise. Your audience cares more about what you’re into rather than what you’re not. After all, I don’t particularly care for a lot of things. Most things, really. If I spent all my time talking about them, I’d be little more than a septic social fountain spewing my bitter froth into the world.

I'm going to add my own comment here. In some cases, I have seen writers get immediate attention with social media by being extremely aggressive, insulting, and negative. I've seen them get into flame wars and bitter confrontation...in public for all to witness. And yes, they do get attention for a while. But I've also seen that after people listen to them rant long enough, they grow tired and forget all about them eventually. I have never once seen anyone who does things simply for shock value survive. One of the things authors need to know is that you're in this for the duration, at least you're supposed to be. And if you attract a huge following in the beginning based on shock value and negativity, you might wind up regretting it in the end.

And for me, one of the biggest turn offs is when I see authors discussing politics too much...unless of course you have a viable political platform. But if you don't have a political background or platform, I don't care which end of the political spectrum you're on. Niether does anyone else.

This is a good one, too. It's well put, in plain English:

Show the World You're Not a Raging Bonerhead
The Internet is like hot dogs: it’s made of lips and assholes. A writer does well to set himself aside from all that and use social media to reveal that he is, indeed, not a giant bucket of non-contributing human syphilis.

Here's another link, titled The 18 Most Annoying People on Facebook. This one is a little more difficult because we've all probably been guilty of one or two of these things in the past. But that doesn't mean we have to continue to make the same mistake time and again.

Cover Preview: Unmentionable: The Men Who Loved on the Titanic

2012-01-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

I just received the cover art for my new historical with Loveyoudivine.com, Unmentionable: The Men Who Love on the Titanic.

Here's a a blurb, below. And here's a link to read a preview excerpt. I'll post more about the release date soon.

One hundred years ago on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg on its way to New York. Though it had been considered unsinkable by all standards, it went down in the cold waters of the Atlantic, taking with it stories of love and romance that weren’t discussed openly in those days. This was especially true with stories of love between two men. One of those hidden stories of the Titanic dealt with the unyielding love and strong romance between a young man named Liam and his older lover, Oliver. Because Oliver was a wealthy business man in America with a great deal of notoriety, the only safe way to bring Liam aboard the Titanic was to dress him in fine women’s clothing and claim he was Oliver’s shy, distant cousin returning to America for the first time in many years. They finally begin to relax when they realize that everyone on the ship believes Liam is a woman, until that fateful night on April 14th when destiny intervened and changed their lives forever.

NYT Article on the Conditions Under Which Apple Employees Work

2012-01-28T17:05:00.000-08:00

I posted about how I'm not the biggest fan of Apple for various reasons, earlier this week, here.

Here's a link a friend told me about. It's an article in the NYT about how Apple employees are treated in China and the conditions under which they work.

Employees work excessive overtime, in some cases seven days a week, and live in crowded dorms.

Interesting how a company with such huge earnings could treat human beings this way.

In the last decade, Apple has become one of the mightiest, richest and most successful companies in the world, in part by mastering global manufacturing. Apple and its high-technology peers — as well as dozens of other American industries — have achieved a pace of innovation nearly unmatched in modern history.

You can get there from here.

Interesting Article on How Gay Men and Straight Women Write M/M Erotica

2012-01-28T12:44:00.000-08:00

I pilfered this from Lori Perkins' facebook wall earlier today. I wanted to "share" but sometimes they won't let you do that on FB. Before you click to the link and read the article, take into consideration this is a clinical piece and it's written from a clinical POV. I agree with some of it, in the sense that newer writers tend to do these things...both men and women.

But what the author of this article is leaving out is that writers, both men and women, grow with time. I have never seen an author who writes now the same way he did ten years earlier. They expand and get better with practice and they don't like to repeat themselves. This is especially true for prolific authors. I've been in publishing a lot longer than this guy has been doing clinical studies and I've seen the way writers grow. So it's hard to pinpoint any of these concepts as fact unless you know and understand the genre of m/m erotica fully from an author's POV.

It's an interesting article anyway. You can get there from here. And I'll post an excerpt below.

For many years, psychologists presumed that gay male sexuality was similar to female sexuality. Both gay men and heterosexual women like men, of course. But are there other similarities? One way we might approach this question is by comparing erotic stories written by women and gay men.

The Virgin Billionaire's Reversal of Fortune - All Romance Ebooks

2012-01-27T20:30:00.000-08:00

I have no idea how the star system works on allromanceebooks.com. But they gave me one for this ninth book in The Virgin Billionaire series and it's nice to see the series still resonates. I'm finishing up the tenth book in the series right now and I have a feeling this might be the final installment. It's going to be difficult for me to let go of Jase and Luis. I've grown so used to having them in my life for the past few years I get emotional thinking about it. But everything comes to an end sooner or later. And considering I never even planned on doing a series I consider myself lucky to have gone through the experience.

And I'd like to thank all the readers who made it possible.

The Virgin Billionaire's Reversal of Fortune - All Romance Ebooks

Dystel & Goderich: A Good Publishing Blog...

2012-01-27T07:48:00.001-08:00

On Fridays I like to find something inspirational, or at least positive in theme, to leave up for the weekend. Blogging for me is hit or miss on weekends.

Today I'm linking here to a publishing blog that's a collaboration between the literary agents at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. I started reading their blog posts when they first started blogging. I think it's probably about five or six years now. And one reason I've continued to read is because this isn't a literary agent blog that spends all its time discussing query letters. Another reason is that I've never had an agent and I often learn things on blogs like this. When you are a published author and you deal with publishers on a one to one basis instead of going through an agent, it's not always easy to know how to make the right decisions. I made one recently regarding a pen name and I'm still not certain it was the right decision. In my gut, I'm still thinking: wrong decision. It would have been nice to have an agent to discuss this with.

At the Dystel & Goderich blog you'll find interesting discussions about current publishing topics...that aren't focused on queries. Sometimes the blog posts are more personal and the agents share their experiences, and how these experiences relate to their careers as agents.

The post to which I'm linking right now is an excellent example of what I'm trying to point out. It's titled "Helping Ourselves," it's written by Miriam, and it discusses how trends come and go in publishing. In the post she talks about how self help books were so popular in the 1980's. But I found the post interesting when I related it to m/m romance. The sub-genre of m/m romance has been going strong for a while now, and I can't help but wonder how long this will last. I don't think the genre will disappear. But if history repeats itself, as it always does, m/m romance will slow down. And if you're a career author, you should be thinking ahead to what your next goal is going to be when, and if, this happens in m/m romance. I know I am.

It's an interesting post. And, the blog itself has a smart, quiet tone that's designed to help authors more than discourage them. Over the years I've seen a lot of publishing blogs and bloggers come and go. Right now, I'm seeing more going than coming. And it's nice to see things are still fresh at Dystel & Goderich.

And, once again, they don't talk about queries all the time.

Apple's Massive Earnings...

2012-01-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

Apple reported huge earnings. Although I have an iPhone, I've never been a huge Apple fan. Mainly because I don't like the conrol, nor do I like the basic mindset on which Apple was built.

I do, however, have the utmost respect for what they do and how they do it. My mom is an Apple fan and she now goes to the Apple store to drive the Apple people crazy instead of me when she has a problem. The associates at the Apple store are always more than willing to help.

I've always found that Apple was best at marketing, which is why their earnings are so good. This alone is priceless:

A Goldman Sachs analyst questioned whether Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire tablet--and other low-cost iPad alternatives like it--might actually be turning people on to Apple's iPad or making an impact on Apple's sales.

"In terms of our competitiveness, the ecosystem for iPads is in a class by itself," Cook said. "I think people really want to do multiple things with their tablet, and therefore, we don't really see these limited-function tablets and e-readers [as] being in the same category."

First, I own two e-readers and I prefer dedicated e-reading devices when I'm reading. I don't want distractions.

Second, I own a Nextbook Premium 8 tablet and it does everything and more than some basic iPads do. I paid far less for my Nextbook and I have no complaints whatsoever. So I'm not exactly sure what Apple is talking about with "ecosystms" and "classes." This sounds more like marketing hype than actual fact. The only thing missing from that answer was "research says," and "studies prove."

But they know what they are doing at Apple, especially when it comes to people who don't understand technology and they want things to be simple. They also know all about status and class peer pressure, and how seriously some people cling to those things.

I might even think about buying an iPad someday. But only if the prices came down. I can think of far better ways I can spend my money...like making an extra mortgage payment to pay down my home, or just putting that money in the bank for a rainy day...than buying something that costs three times the price of what something else can do just as well.

There's an old saying about money I try to live by:

"It's as important to learn how to make money as it is to learn how to hold on to it."

Review: "Fairytale Interrupted" by Rosemarie Terenzio

2012-01-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

When I read excerpts of "Fairytale Interrupted," in People Magazine last week I made a note to check it out. But when I went to Amazon earlier this week and read the only six reviews left so far I wasn't too thrilled with what I saw. Almost half were one star reviews, with reasons why the readers didn't like the book. The rest were rave reviews that sounded way to trite for my taste in memoir.

So I almost went against all the advice I give to readers about vetting reviews and books and passed on "Fairytale Interrupted." I usually check out the information on amazon, but then go to Kobo to order the digital version because I have two Kobo reading devices and a Nextbook tablet. Part of the reason I almost passed was because of the questionable reviews, and part was because of the price...$11.99...which crossed my line when it comes to digital books.

I stopped short and decided to read the free digital excerpt on Amazon. The reviews kept bothering me; they didn't sound right compared to the great excerpts I'd read in People Magazine. I also figured that I'd never pay that price for an erotic anthology edited by someone who isn't an editor and written by people who are new authors. But I would pay full digital price for memoirs that revolved around names like John Kennedy Jr., depending on what I find while vetting the book.

So I opened the Amazon excerpt and started reading the prologue. I should also admit that I'm not a huge fan of prologues...anywhere...and usually skip right over them. This time, however, the minute I started reading I couldn't stop. After the prologue, I read part of the first chapter. And after that, I went over to Kobo and bought the book. I wound up reading it in almost one sitting.

One reason the book resonated with me is because I felt close to the author in more than one way. I'm a writer who worked in publishing in the 1990's as an associate editor, I lived in a small studio, and I remember the feeling of excitement within the publishing industry regarding the Internet. This was also pre-911 and Manhattan...and the world...was a different place.

Another reason the book resonated with me is because of John Kennedy. While I was still in college, I went into New York to visit my brother for the weekend. At the time, he lived on Manhattan's Upper West Side, which was very trendy at the time. I'm not sure if Kennedy still lived there then, but a lot of celebs did and it was an exciting place to be for a few years. This is one of the reasons why I set my own book, The Virgin Billionaire, on the Upper West Side. We went to a small out of the way restaurant that weekend and I actually met John Kennedy for a split second. It wasn't even an actual "meeting." I was talking to someone about whether or not it was faster to go through the park to get downtown and he bumped into me and said he was sorry. I didn't even know it was him, until my brother told me a minute later.

The book is not one of those tell-all, gossipy works that talks about things most people consider far too personal to discuss. But there are a great deal of intimate scenes between the author and John Kennedy that sound real enough to be absolute truth. The author is honest and you know she didn't make anything up to sell a book. The integrity is there, and you can almost feel the loyalty and respect Rosemarie Terenzio felt for John.

It's also very well written. As a writer it often bothers me when I see too many common mistakes...even in non-fiction. This book doesn't do that. It flows with an even pace, it's not too wordy or over-written, and I didn't find as many mistakes in the digital version as I often find in other digital books. This alone is refreshing.

The title of the book is bittersweet. John's life, and the author's life, were fairytales interrupted. I could feel how devastated Ms. Terenzio was when everything changed so fast. And, even before I read this book, I always felt it was such a shame John didn't get a chance to fulfill his goal with his Magazine, George. I used to read it from cover to cover. And if John hadn't died so suddenly I believe George would have been what The Huffington Post is today on the Internet. Unfortunately, this never happened.

If you are looking for something dishy and trashy and gossipy, this is not the non-fiction book for you. If you are looking for something well-written and smart, you won't be disappointed. The one thing that still bothers me about the one star reviews I read is that this book, even if you don't like it, deserves nothing less than two stars just for the quality of the writing alone. I'm giving it five.

Cale McCaskey Talks About the Problem with Romance

2012-01-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

So I'm on twitter one day this week and I see a RT that looks interesting. I click over and find this post titled: THE PROBLEM WITH ROMANCE NOVELS.

First, I've been around far too long to be surprised by anything anyone says on the web anymore. Second, being that I've heard almost every slur against the romance genre there is I've become numb to much of it. Third, most of these opinions don't matter much anyway.

But I'm linking to it now because I want newer authors to see the kind of thing romance authors have been dealing with forever. I can even remember a teacher in high school trashing the romance genre while I was sitting there in class thinking, WTF?, this dude, this bald fat fuck, is wearing mismatched socks, a pilled sweater vest, gum-soled shoes, and he drives a goddamn Rambler...which at the time was twenty years old.

Before I link to the post, I thought I share this from the post, verbatim:

Because romance novels do sell so abundantly in our day, I've noticed more and more articles about, and interviews with, romance writers where they are as often as not put on a pedestal—as though they somehow belong in the same class as authors of much higher standing.

All I can say is I've been writing romance for many years. I've had more books published than I can count. Some have sold more than others and I'm never quite certain what will resonate with readers. I just write with the intention of pleasing my readers, not with the intention of being put on a pedestal or being classified anywhere by anyone. And, not everything I've had published has been a romance. A good deal of my gay fiction is considered "gay lit," especially my older works. Some books and stories were in different genres and I've used pen names more than once. I've even been in "gay lit" anthologies that have won literary awards. So does this mean my pen names are in different classes than my real name, Ryan Field, that I use to write romance? And does this mean that my pen names should be in a "much higher standing" than my real name? As a writer, not an author, I'm not even certain those questions make sense.

Of course this is a personal opinion and Mr. McCaskey has a right to voice his opinion in any way he sees fit. I didn't comment on his blog because I do respect his opinion and I didn't want to intrude. The odds are I'll never go back to his blog again after this post.

He also says this:

I think it's safe to say that no Ivy League school will ever teach out of romance novels as part of the curriculum.

This may or may not be true. I do remember I took a course on contemporary fiction in college, here, that covered romance novels. It's not an ivy league school but it is a well respected university with a campus in Wroxton, England. And now, as a graduate of this school, I'm writing in the romance genre. All this aside, my first thought was how Mr. McCaskey knows so much about Ivy League schools. I can't help but wonder which Ivy League school he attended. I tried to find it in his profile but didn't see anything other than this:

I'm a sexy, single, white male with a really big, uh, wallet. (It's where I keep all my I.O.U.s). I also write a bit.

It's an interesting description.

Here's the link.

And if you have time, check this out. It's a real gem. I don't know where Mr. McCaskey is getting his information about romance novels, but I've always been told the one place where romance authors tend not to go is adultery and infidelity. In fact, I've seen comment threads explode on the issue and I rarely go there myself because I'm not a huge fan of adultery or infidelity. If I want to read about adultery and infidelity I'll read Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom," where there's plenty of it going on.

Are Some Reviews an Abuse of Power?

2012-01-25T07:17:00.001-08:00

Imagine you're driving down the road on a warm spring morning without a care in the world. The top is down, you're thinking about that bag of Dove you're going to dig into at noon, and you're going 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Then you hear that ominous sound and you look into the rear view mirror. There's a cop with flashing lights signaling you to pull over. When you glance down and see that you are going 50 mph, you hit the signal and pull over. You know you're screwed, you should have been paying attention to this, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Imagine this now. The cop who pulled you over just found out his son is gay, the son is working part time doing drag shows on Sunday afternoons, and he's going to the prom with the captain of the football team. The cop knows now that all the money he spent on baseball camp, little league, and tickets to football games that he hoped would make his son a man was a complete waste of time. To top this off, the cop's ex-wife just broke off her engagement and he will have to continue paying alimony for the next five years.

You lower the window, without saying a word. You expect a small lecture about speeding, you know you're going to get this ticket, and you're even ready to apologize to the cop for not paying attention. You know you should have been paying attention to the rules of the road and there's no way out of it but to remain silent and suck it up.

But instead of giving you a lecture and a ticket, the cop yanks you out of the car, grabs you by the throat, and shoves you up against the hood. He screams and curses, belittles and demeans you, and continues to shove you around. He even kicks you a few times and twists your arm. There are no witnesses, and this time nothing is on camera. What he does to you is an abuse of power and there's nothing you can do about it. You know you can't fight back because he will only make it worse for you. In this case, it will always be his word against yours because he has the power and you did, indeed, break the law.

The best you can do is hope this cop calms down and leaves you alone. You know this kind of abuse of power happens all the time and you don't want to get into more trouble than you already are. This guy has the ability to ruin your life and he knows it. No matter what happens, it will always be his word against yours. You can't even tell another cop because you know that all cops stick together and one will never question the motives or actions of another. What the cop does to you is traumatic and will leave scars for the rest of your life. But he didn't actually cause any major physical harm and you know you can learn how to live with the psychological harm.

I know this is a dramatic example. But I also know it happens. It happened to me once when I was speeding and there was nothing I could do about it at the time. I paid the ticket and kept my mouth shut.

And while it might be considered too strong to compare a book reviewer who abuses her power to a cop who abuses his power, the psychological damage...the damage that can't be seen...hurts just as much in some cases.

Imagine this: You're a self-published author who is learning more about writing and publishing every day. You feel confident enough to self-publish a novel and to your surprise it actually hits a few bestseller lists on Amazon. You now know you made a few mistakes and you're going to fix all this in your next book. You've read reviews that are both good and bad and you've tried to learn from both the good and bad. In fact, some of the bad reviews on Amazon helped you learn more than the good reviews. Most authors will agree that this happens more often than not with bad reviews.

You're feeling good about being a published author and thinking about the next book you're going to self-publish on Amazon. And then one morning you wake up and find you have a google alert that says one of the most prominent online book reviewers decided to read and review your book. This lady has power, big time. People take her word as gold. At first, you're excited. You know how important a book review can be from this particular reviewer and you can't wait to read it. But when you click to the web site, you find that your book wasn't just given a bad review, it was ripped apart from page to page, line by line. You wonder why this happened and what would motivate someone with this kind of power to go after a small self-published author in such a way. You can live with a bad review, just like you could have lived with getting a ticket for speeding.

You know you should expect both good and bad reviews. This is part of being a published author; it's inevitable. But a review that rips out your soul and leaves you stripped of your dignity is almost more than you can handle. This review was so venomous, not to mention catty, that the book reviewer actually listed, in public, examples of what she thought you did wrong each time. Most of this is debatable. A lot of it was twisted and turned around. And in the end you know there is nothing you can do. You can't rant about how unfair the review was because you'll be labelled a disgruntled author, and we all know how everyone hates that. Some even love to see when it happens. They can't wait to see an author melt down and rant.

What I've discussed above doesn't happen often. Most book reviewers are reliable sources where readers can gain excellent information. But I have seen it happen a few times. To be clear, I'm not talking about bad reviews. Unfortunately, I have seen authors melt down over a bad review without good reason. But good book reviewers are important. They have a right to post an opinion and comment about a book, good or bad. Readers need this now more than ever. But whenever I see an overly detailed bad review that not only has the potential to harm an author's career but also cause serious psychological damage, I have to wonder about the reviewer's motivation. And then I have to wonder whether or not this was an abuse of power that was intended to garner attention and help build the reviewers online platform.

As a reader, I rely on the ethics and moral character of a book reviewer. I respect them for having the courage to stand behind their negative and positive reviews. However, there are no limits to which a book reviewer can go on the Internet as long as she follows the law and doesn't actually come out and defame the author. And if the book reviewer knows the law well enough, this kind of knowledge might even be considered more abuse of power.

And it begs the question: Are some reviews an abuse of power? I honestly don't know the answer to this question because I don't see it happen very often. And while it is an important question, I don't believe it's important enough to pursue. The only thing that is important is for readers to learn how to vet book reviewers. In other words, if you see a book reviewer who might be abusing her power and attacking authors because of a personal agenda, most likely the rest of her reviews will be questionable at best. This is why vetting book reviewers nowadays is so important. And it's not that hard to do. You just have to go back and read previous reviews to see how good and bad reviews were handled. If something strikes you as odd and it doesn't make sense, it's most likely not reliable information and you should look elsewhere to find out about the book you're planning to buy.

Preview: "Unmentionable: The Men Who Loved on the Titanic"

2012-01-24T17:27:00.000-08:00

This is the post Edwardian story I've been working on and posting about for the past six months: UNMENTIONABLE: THE MEN WHO LOVED ON THE TITANIC. With the 100 year anniversary approaching of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, I wanted to write a love story about what might have happened between two men who were in love in those days.

Because the word "gay" didn't exist until later in the century (in this context), and because the love between two men wasn't discussed at all, ever, I wanted to write a story about what might have happened if there were two men in love aboard the Titanic. I'll never know this for sure. In those days homosexuality was considered a flaw or a mental illness, but I would bet there was at least one homosexual couple in love, living in silence, sneaking around to protect themselves.

Here's the unedited blurb and excerpt. I'll post more when the cover comes in and the edits are finished. We're shooting for a March first launch right now, but that could change. I can promise it will be launched before April 14th, which is the 100th anniversary of the sinking.

Blurb:

One hundred years ago on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg on its way to New York. Though it had been considered unsinkable by all standards, it went down in the cold waters of the Atlantic, taking with it stories of love and romance that weren’t discussed openly in those days. This was especially true with stories of love between two men. One of those hidden stories of the Titanic dealt with the unyielding love and strong romance between a young man named Liam and his older lover, Oliver. Because Oliver was a wealthy business man in America with a great deal of notoriety, the only safe way to bring Liam aboard the Titanic was to dress him in fine women’s clothing and claim he was Oliver’s shy, distant cousin returning to America for the first time in many years. They finally begin to relax when they realize that everyone on the ship believes Liam is a woman, until that fateful night on April 14th when destiny intervened and changed their lives forever.

Excerpt:

“I absolutely refuse to wear dainty, frilly undergarments and a corset on the Titanic,” Liam said. To emphasize his feelings, he punched a wall next to a tall bookcase. A brass candlestick tipped and landed on the floor. “And I’m not wearing women’s shoes. This is absurd, Oliver. I’m a man, not a woman.” Then he kicked the baseboard.
Oliver Prendergast crossed to where Liam was standing and picked up the candlestick. He placed it back on the shelf and then set both palms gently on Liam’s bare bottom. They were both naked in Oliver’s bedroom, in the tiny hidden flat Oliver had been renting in London for the past six months so his staff wouldn’t find out about his young male lover, Liam Singleton. Oliver moved his palms up and down Liam’s buttocks and said, “There’s no other way, my love. Discretion is extremely important right now if you’re going to return to America with me.”
Liam turned so fast his penis slapped against his thigh. He sent Oliver a glare and said, “Why can’t I just go as part of your staff? I don’t mind acting as your valet, or whatever way you want to describe me. I just want to be a man, not a woman.”
Oliver turned and walked to the window. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and took a deep breath. “Because that would be too conspicuous, my love. We don’t have enough time to set up a new plan. Everyone knows I never travel with more than three staff members. And what would I tell my staff? They’d suspect something immediately if I brought in a handsome young man now, and I can’t take any chances in my position. I’ve already booked a first class suite on the Titanic and I’ve told everyone I’m escorting my shy female third cousin back to America. People would ask too many questions if I changed plans now. They’d wonder what happened to my cousin.”
“This is insane,” Liam said. “No one is going to believe it. And I’ll be the one who winds up getting in trouble.”
“Trust me, it will work,” said Oliver. “I wish there were another way.”
When Liam heard the low disappointed tone in Oliver’s voice, he slowly walked to the window and leaned into his back. Although there was about a twenty year age difference, Liam had never met a man who could satisfy his needs and emotions the way Oliver did. At forty-one, Oliver was just as good as any man in his twenties or thirties; if not better…he didn’t have any inhibitions or insecurities. But more than that, no one had ever been so devoted to Liam in his entire life. So he put his arms around Oliver and kissed the back of his neck. “I’ll do this for you. But I’m not going to like it. And I’m not wearing anything dainty or frilly. I’ll wear one of those long corsets to cover my groin, but that’s it. The thought of dressing up as a woman is bad enough at any time. But to have to spend that entire time crossing the Atlantic on a ship dressed as a woman kills me.”

ANDROIDBLIP and Gay Books: American Star

2012-01-24T08:44:00.000-08:00

There's now a web site dedicated to android applications, where you can find many of my books. The one I'm linking to is AMERICAN STAR, and there's a list of others.

A few things have been changed slightly. They've altered the title of AMERICAN STAR and most of the other books. But the content is still exactly the same.

There's also a good book description and a sample of what the digital format will look like.

If you like watching "American Idol," you'll love Ryan Field's M/M erotic novel American Star!
The lead in this kinky novel is Terrence. Ryan Field’s Terrence loves two things in life: hot male/male sex with good looking men and singing on stage. So when he auditions for a new TV reality show that's a singing competition, it's no surprise when he starts to attract tons of fans and horny gay guys who are interested in getting into his tight pants.
When he develops feelings that are deeper than just sex for one of the other contestants in Hollywood, he does his best to seduce him in every way possible. But the other contestant is more worried about singing than sex, so Terrence winds up having a lot of kinky gay sex to deal with the rejection.
In this erotic romance Terrence has to deal with a deranged fan who sends him death threats, the overbearing mother of his newest love interest and the brutal death of a close friend. But none of this stops him from growing as a performer, and with a little help from a well-hung chauffeur, a few sexy top guys who work in a hotel, and his ex-lover the gay football player, he learns how to please all the men in his life with a huge smile on his face and legs that are always ready to open wide.

Uplifting Quotes for Writers...

2012-01-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to a site with quotes by famous authors for writers. You can get there from here.

This is one I really love:

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
Mark Twain

I like this one, too:

"If you would be a writer, first be a reader. Only through the assimilation of ideas, thoughts and philosophies can one begin to focus his own ideas, thoughts and philosophies."
Allan W. Eckert

First Interracial Marriage in Virginia...

2012-01-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting article about the first interracial marriage in Virginia. I'm not a huge fan of the "Huff Post," because I don't think they would know the meaning of objective journalism if their lives depended on it. But I try to keep this blog as objective as possible at all times, without getting into political or religious rants. And right now I'm linking to a story that has an emotional impact more than anything else.

This was the opinion of the judge:

Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And, but for the interference with his arrangement, there would be no cause for such marriage. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.

This all happened before I was born, and before most of my readers were born. So it's hard to fully grasp what it must have been like back then. It's hard for me to grasp what it must have been like for gay men before AIDS. All my life I've been aware there's this disease out there that can change my life drastically, if not take it, if I'm not careful.

More than that, all my life I've seen interracial couples at least have the right to be together. Not everyone liked this. But they were legally allowed to love each other. I've dated men of all races and never thought twice about it. I was always more interested in what the guy was like than his race or his religion. But, intellectually, I know it wasn't always like this, and it's interesting to go back and see how interracial marriage was treated in some places.

I do remember this personal experience. My younger brother took a young African American woman to his senior prom. The next day the garage doors were spray painted with racial slurs. We never found out who did this, but it was my first real experience with racism on that level. This was in 1989, and it happened in New Jersey, not the deep south.

Here's the rest of the article, with a link to read more.

Before June of 1967, sixteen states still prohibited interracial marriage, including Virginia, the home of Richard Perry Loving, a white man, and his wife, Mildred Loving, a woman of African-American and Native-American descent.

Nine years prior, in June 1958, the couple traveled to Washington, D.C. -- where interracial marriage was legal -- to get married. When they returned home, however, they were arrested and sentenced to one year in jail for violating the state's Racial Integrity Act.

Read more...

Rescuing Books On Goodreads

2012-01-22T17:48:00.000-08:00

I found this link, which helped me a lot. It's a kindleboard forum titled: "Rescue Your Book on Goodreads."

Other than that, just keep checking your books to see if a banner comes up across the top of the page where the book is explained/listed on goodreads. If the banner comes up and tells you that you need to rescue it, click "Learn More" and you'll be directed to a form.

It's an easy form to fill out. But it's time consuming and dull as nuts. I found the best product info, once again (I'm always harping on this), came from Allromanceebooks.com and Fictionwise.com. At least with respect to publication dates.

A lot of my books didn't need rescuing, which I'm assuming means goodreads has other datasources or readers/reviewers have already recused them. But don't quote me on this. As I said, much of this is explained well in the link above. And I'll probably be double checking my goodreads content all week.

About Goodreads Parting from Amazon...

2012-01-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

Here's the statement I found at this link.

On January 30, Goodreads will no longer display book information that comes from Amazon.

Basically it means that because Goodreads thinks Amazon is too "restrictive," they will be moving to other datasources that will allegedly enhance everyone's goodreads experience.

Amazon data that we will stop using includes data such as titles, author names, page counts, and publication dates.

For many authors, publishers, and readers this is a big thing. I would imagine it's even bigger for book reviewers.

They've posted this link, where you can click "rescue me" and save information. However, each time I've clicked "rescue me" this is what I've received.

You do not have presmissions for this operation.

Unfortunately, there is no link that provides "permissions." Why does this not surprise me about goodreads? That's for another post altogether. Goodreads can be extremely helpful, but I've also found the reviews questionable at best. I wish I were more trusting, but I'm afraid I'm just not an idiot.

However, if you're on goodreads and you're interested in learning more about this, please check out the link I've provided above. I have a feeling we'll be hearing more about this in the future. To be honest, I'm not completely clear what this is all about and I plan to read more wherever I can. And if anyone has anything they'd like to add, feel free to comment.

If you're interested, here's another post by another blogger.

Great Link: Fit Hot Guys

2012-01-21T12:30:00.001-08:00

Just trust me on this one. Click the link below to see what I mean.

Fithotguys

Not Too Long Ago...

2012-01-21T11:08:00.001-08:00

Whenever you think you're having a bad day, just take a look at the photo here and remember how much worse it could get.

This is what writers used to use. Editing was done with red pens and authors rewrote so many times their fingers turned black. Nowadays I rarely ever rewrite anything. I edit extensively. But I never rewrite like I used to do when I submitted hardcopy. And that's because if I wanted to change a sentence or a paragraph I couldn't cut and paste. I had to rewrite the entire page and then hope it would fit.

Of course I didn't use a typewriter like this one, but I did use an IBM Electric and a Word Processor right up until 1999. I still have boxes filled with hardcopy manuscripts I haven't bothered to turn into electronic files.

The only reason I switched to a computer in 1999 was because my editors were starting to tell me I didn't have a choice anymore. Basically, they told me if I didn't go electronic I wouldn't be able to keep up. And I was still in my twenties, which made me unique in the sense that I wasn't online at all. Although I'm glad everything is now electronic, from submissions to contracts, and I wouldn't want to go back to a typewriter for any amount of money, there was something very comforting about the sound, feel, and touch of a typewriter that can't be explained unless you've done it.

One Good Take on How Writers Can Deal with Rejection

2012-01-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

When I saw the blog post I'm linking to below I had to share. We've all been through rejection and we all know how it can sting. If it's not rejection, it's criticism.

And I love when other writers share tips and ways to help soften the sting of rejection and criticism. Rejection is something you have to face if you're going to be a writer, but there are also ways you can learn to deal with it, too.

Author Jurgen Wolff wrote a wonderful post. You can check it out here.

I think I like this part the most.

The third is to hope for acceptance but not expect it, to remind ourselves that all of life is a mixed bag.

If you're dealing with rejection right now, please take the time to check out the rest of the post. It's worth it.

ABC Ditches TV Sitcom "Work It" for Offensive LGBT Content?

2012-01-20T16:40:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, a TV show that mocked transgendered people was pitched to high powered executives in Hollywood and they loved it. They loved it the same way people loved watching offensive racist "Mammy" characters in old 1940's films like Gone with the Wind.

The TV show I'm talking about was called "Work It," and it was about two straight men, living in Suburban, USA, who couldn't get jobs because of a down economy. So what did these straight men do? It was classic. They put on lipstick, earrings, and high heels and went out to get jobs in full drag.

They not only got the jobs, they thrived in the jobs.

Oh, it was funny. It was lol, hahaha, and huzzah. The canned laughter could not be contained. And the more these two straight guys camped it up the more offensive it became. And it wasn't just offensive to transgenders. They did a good job at offending women in the work force, too.

The amazing thing out of all of this is that the show actually got to the point where they gave it a time slot and let it air on TV. No one gave it a second thought. In Hollywood, where they are clearly not short of a gay population, I find this astounding at best and horrifying at the worst.

This is what finally happened:

The network said today that the sitcom about two men who dress as women to look for work is off the schedule after only two episodes aired. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation had protested the series, saying it mocked the transgender community.

The formal statement was poor ratings. But I can't help wondering why it reached that point. And now I wonder what's next and how much more defamation there is in store. It seems these days I'm offended as a gay man at least once or twice a day on social media by people who don't even know they are doing it. I just received a private facebook message from a straight woman author and her husband, whom I assume is straight, who are producing and hawking a new film with gay content, about gay weddings. You can't blame people for zooming in on a market they think is going to make them money. And you can't blame them for working hard and taking advantage of a good thing while it lasts. But you can't fault gay people for being offended when they don't do it right.

So She "Hates Writing Sex Scenes"

2012-01-19T17:36:00.000-08:00

Last night while reading a few pieces about the debacle in the YA community where authors are attacking reviewers (it's dismal at best), I decided to check out social media and I saw something that made my jaw drop. An author who writes m/m erotic romance posted she didn't like writing sex scenes. I kid you not. I would never joke about something like this. And I'm trying hard to write this post without being snarky. I would never mention names, but here is the exact quote, verbatim.

I hate writing sex scenes. Why can't I just say, "They had sex," and move on to the rest of the book. :)

One reason I find this interesting is because as an author of erotica and erotic romance for over twenty years, I've never felt this way a day in my life. I look forward to writing the sex scenes, and work hard to make them move the story forward without being too obvious. The only thing I've ever blasted in erotic romances I didn't write was that there weren't enough sex scenes. I can't help find it fascinating that m/m erotic romances will be constantly chopped apart for too much sex, and yet the erotic romances with too little sex are praised to the heavens. Evidently, there's a reason that passed me by.

Readers who buy and read erotica of any kind, from romance to hardcore BDSM, are buying this partly for the sex and partly for the storyline. It's a combination that goes hand in hand and if an author cheats or skimps on one or the other it's going to show. When I see this all I can think about is how screwed over the reader is.

Another reason why this statement was interesting to me, to the point of disturbing, is that if an author doesn't like writing sex scenes, and she would rather just write, "they had sex," and move on, why on earth would this author be writing erotic romance or erotica in the first place? Jonathan Franzen obviously doesn't like writing sex scenes (I've read "Freedom") and no one can fault him for this. So he writes what he loves and deals more in strong characterization and emotional conflict than sex. And I've never felt cheated by anything Jonathan Franzen wrote in spite of the questionable sex scenes.

Sometimes I wonder how many erotic romance authors are writing erotica because they think there are more publishing opportunities in the genre than in other genres. And then I start to feel sorry for the reader again. Because if this is the case, these authors are shortchanging themselves and the reader.

Maybe the comment I saw was posted in jest. There is a smiley face at the end. But would a dentist post "I hate pulling teeth, I wish they would just fall out on their own," on social media? If he did, I might take him seriously and I wouldn't be paying his office a visit anytime soon.

At the very least, if you're an erotic romance author and you don't like writing sex scenes, be smart enough to keep this information to yourself. It's not something I would joke about, especially when intentions can be misinterpreted so easily these days on social media.

My Next Destination Point...

2012-01-19T17:01:00.000-08:00

Dealing With a Bad Review: Thoughts From Erika Dreifus

2012-01-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to post about this for a while and time kept slipping away. If you're a published author, you've most likely already felt the sting of a bad review. If you're a published author and you haven't experienced this yet, you will.

The post to which I'm linking is guest post on the David Abrams blog, The Quivering Pen. Erika Dreifus wrote the guest post in a positive voice, in order to help other authors learn how to deal with their first bad review...or bad reviews in general.

This line made me smile:

In this age of Google alerts, that might seem impressive indeed.

I smiled because I stopped all google alerts after my own first bad review...a scathing review where the reviewer roasted the book, in public, spelled my name wrong, and misled readers to believe scenes I'd written that were intended to be satirical were serious. In fact, the review was written to laugh at the book, laugh at me, and laugh at my publisher. But more than that, the reviewer, an angry woman, didn't "get" gay humor and never will. I figured I didn't need google alerts to point me in the direction of reviews like this, so I stopped them short and never used them again. And the book I'm talking about turned out to be a bestseller and is still getting good reviews from readers.

Then Erika said this in the guest post about the bad review she suffered. I smiled again after I read it twice:

Some of the review seemed eccentric as well as harsh.

There's never been a better word in the history of humanity than "eccentric" when it comes to some of the bad reviews authors deal with. Don't get me wrong, not all negative reviews are necessarily bad things. Some even help sell books. But in some negative reviews it's important to look for that "eccentric" quality, both as a reader and an author. Because if the review is, indeed, "eccentric"...over the top, too snarky...meant as a roast...it's not going to be a viable, trustworthy review.

Erika's guest post goes on to explain and list ways to deal with your first bad review that I can't recommend enough to all authors. Please take the time to read this. If for no other reason than this line alone:

Google the offending reviewer.

I find it both helpful and important to research book reviewers nowadays. Being that the process of reviewing a book is subjective, it's important to know how the reviewer has reviewed other books, what her reputation is like, and how readers receive her reviews. If you find that you're not the only one who has received a snarky review, you'll feel a lot better. And if you find an inordinate amount of bitchy, snarky reviews on her site, and these reviews are laced with truncated excerpts that seem to take things out of context, you may even wonder whether or not her reviews are written more to garner her online presence than help readers choose which books to read. Trust me on this, no one does anything for free online. There's always a hidden agenda and it's usually about self-promotion/platform (they want a good deal). Or, even worse, narcissism.

Once again, please take the time to read Erika's guest post the on David Abrams blog. It's one of the smartest posts about dealing with bad reviews I've read in a very long time. And it's done in very good taste, which is something I don't see often.

Going Dark Today

2012-01-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

I'm going dark today, in theory, to protest Internet censorship and the people who don't understand the Internet. I've read about SOPA and what it could mean. If this becomes law, web sites could be taken down instantly, without question, for posting something as simple as a photo. In other words, we won't be considered innocent until proven guilty.

Let me also put it this way:

I've experienced this on facebook already. My account was taken down because someone didn't like what I posted and "reported" me. And it was nothing lewd or adult oriented. I keep my facebook updates G rated like I keep this blog. The reason was lgbt general content. Of course I appealed and facebook restored my account. I don't think facebook is anti-gay. I just think they like control. But it's not a great feeling to know that they have this much control. And it will feel even worse if the entire Internet is controlled in this manner.

So I'm going dark until 8 tonight.

Learn more about SOPA

Apple's Big Announcement...

2012-01-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

Of course this is all still conjecture, but from the truncated versions I've read about the announcement Apple will soon make, it looks as though Apple is heading into the textbook market.

While I'm not surprised by this announcement, what I find most interesting is that it was mentioned in the Steve Jobs biography. In fact, making textbooks digital was one of Steve's biggest goals with Apple.

I have no idea how publishers are going to react. Many still haven't accepted digital books; some still think they are a passing trend.

In this NYT article, Apple Aims to Take On the Textbook Market, you can read more about the big announcement and what it involves. As always, Apple is grandstanding. But I don't look for any new devices coming out soon. This time it appears to be all about going after the textbook market.

The event will showcase a new push by Apple into the digital textbook business, but will not feature any new devices, according to a person close to the company who did not want to be identified talking about it before it occurred.

What does surprise me is that Steve Jobs is still actually working posthumously. This concept, according to his bio, was something he cared about passionately. And thinking back to when I was a college student, schlepping huge heavy textbooks from one end of a huge campus to the other, I think it's about time textbooks went digital. I just hope they can keep the costs down, unlike what they've done with digital books priced at 9.99 or higher.

Safe Sex, Condoms, and M/M Romance

2012-01-17T07:12:00.001-08:00

While I was reading a blog post late last night where the blogger was discussing condoms in m/m romance, I realized I'd never posted anything here on my own blog. I once wrote a guest post with AJ Llewellyn and DJ Manly, here, at Jessewaves review site. In that post, we covered a lot of ground, and between the three of us offered varying opinions. The comment thread is interesting.

If writers are motivated by their own personal experiences, which most are, I've remained true to form with my stand on condoms and safe sex in the m/m fiction I write. Right now, I'm finishing up a m/m historical romance set in the Edwardian era, and obviously condoms are not going to be mentioned at all. I'd be an idiot to mention condoms and safe sex in a novella set during this period. And I may be many things, but idiot is not one of them.

I've written many raw scenes (sex without condoms), with characters in monogamous relationships, characters with an "agreement" not to use condoms, and characters who lived pre-HIV/AIDS era many times. But I always did it for a specific reason and that reason was always explained quickly in the book. I don't always believe my characters need to use condoms, based on the situations with which they are faced. My publishers never told me I couldn't do this. My publishers are all women. I find it more than interesting that there's this myth going around that women...publishers and authors...are pushing writers to use condoms in m/m romance. Trust me, it's a myth. And I'm speaking from first hand knowledge, not hearsay.

I've also written many scenes in books and short stories with condoms because I felt this is what the scenes called for. In my own personal life, I wouldn't have sex without a condom, not in the heat of passion, not for the best looking man, and not for the sake of love...I never have and I don't expect less from my characters. In other words, if I'm writing about reasonably educated, intelligent, fairly well-balanced gay male characters in a novel, and they are single and actively having sex, I'm also going to make them responsible enough to use condoms because this is what I would do. This is what most of the gay men I know would do. There's no hidden agenda. Once again, not hearsay.

I know first hand what HIV-AIDS can do through watching friends both live and die with it. Most of my friends who are HIV negative know, too. I'm legal POA for one good friend and I work with his ID doc in Philadelphia...Dr. Jay Kostman...who is a leading HIV specialist. I know ARV drugs cost thousands of dollars a month, which most people living with HIV cannot afford. I know these drugs keep people alive and also cause side effects that diminish bone mass and create many other complications down the road. I've seen people with full blown AIDS trached, intubated,and put in induced comas on Diprivan while they wasted away to nothing. I've witnessed the effects of IRIS...and Bactrim failure for those with PCP. I've seen cases with CMV where people were blinded. And when you see these things first hand it changes you forever. I am no saint, trust me. But when I'm with a guy I call the shots with condoms. I wouldn't expect less from certain characters I've created in a book or story.

I am the first to shrug off PC nonsense. And I "get" the fantasy concept of m/m fiction without condoms. In certain cases, with regard to hardcore erotica, I don't see anything wrong with it because it is fantasy. But, as a writer, I personally choose to use condoms in a book or story when I think the storyline calls for it. I honestly don't care what other authors do at this point in my life. I'm just pointing out that authors are motivated by different experiences in their own lives. In my case I know far too much, first hand, about what HIV/AIDS can do...and I just gave you the abbreviated version of what I know.

Writing Historicals and Learning about Corsetry

2012-01-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

Here's another reason why I both love and hate writing historicals: corsets.

I don't actually need to know a thing about corsets. But I'm writing this new historical set during the Edwardian era and I have to give a fairly accurate description about the kinds of corsets that were worn back then...specifically around the year 1912.

According to wiki, "a corset is a garment worn to hold and shape the torso." According to Edwardian Corsetry Fashion History, "the corset started just above the waist and fitted well down the thighs." In other words, corsets were longer and more streamlined after 1907. In some cases, by 1912, corsets reached the knees and it was difficult for women to sit down. Had I not done the research, I would have described the corset as what we see to today in those erotic boutiques. And I would have been dead wrong.

This longer, streamlined corset was designed to enhance the figure of a woman and to compliment the fashions of this time period. And it didn't last long. From what I gather, the corset started going out of style around World War I and dropped out almost completely in the l920's when the girdle took its place.

But the research had to be done, even though it wasn't a large part of the story I'm working on right now. I could have lived a long full life without this information, but once I started reading about it I have to admit that I did find it interesting from a trending pov. Evidently fashion has always been trending, and it always will trend. And corsets played a huge part in the history of women's fashion, which couldn't be overlooked in the story I'm working on right now.

I'm also sure a lot of women today are thrilled they don't have to wear the corsets of 1912.

Breaking One Myth about Writers

2012-01-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

I spent most of Sunday afternoon answering questions for an interview with Long and Short Reviews. The questions were great...excellent, in fact.

I saved one question in particular for last in the interview. And this is because I think it breaks a popular myth about all writers, across the board. We're often perceived as being absent-minded and unusual, messy and disorganized. They say we drink too much and don't focus enough on practical matters because we're always too busy focusing on our "art." I even read one blog post right after Christmas where a m/m romance author joked around in a guest post on a review site about how we're all in therapy and we're all these insecure, terrified creative types who are never understood. I once even read somewhere that writers who are extremely messy and disorganized are always great in bed. (I swear I did.)

Well.

Interesting.

I'm smiling as I write this. But I have say blah, blah, blah, to all of the above. I'm sure there are some writers like this. I'm sure there are many people in all professions like this. If there weren't, my parents, who happen to be therapists, wouldn't have done so well.

But as a writer, I prefer not to be lumped into any categories as far as my basic personality goes and how I choose to live my life. This thing about writers being needy, insecure, messy, and prone to all kinds of quirks is about as wrong as it gets. This thing about writers being in therapy is wrong, too. The one about being messy and great in bed is just too ridiculous to even touch. A slob is a slob; this has nothing to do with writers or being great in bed. And when I answered the questions for Long and Short Reviews, I decided to try and bust this myth that's been going around for so long.

Here's the question about which I'm talking, and I'll post more about the interview when it's published.

21. What would we find under your bed?

Absolutely nothing, seriously. You could eat off the floor under my bed. I saved this question for last on purpose. Writers are often referred to as disorganized, messy, and, in a general sense, not quite stable. My home is immaculate. I spend long hours working on my property. There's nothing beneath my bed. My checkbook is always balanced, my bills are paid on time, and I've never been in therapy (and my parents are therapists). I don't drink too much (often) or take drugs of any kind (ever). So the myth of writers being these weird unbalanced wacko creatures makes me smile all the time.

Must Read: A VERY Different Approach to Bullying I'm Not Sure I Like...

2012-01-15T10:44:00.000-08:00

(Update: While I may or may not agree completely with the post to which I linked, I do respect the blogger's opinion and her right to do as she sees fit.)

To be perfectly honest, I'm not certain I fully agree with the blog post to which I'm linking below. It's about bullying, and how this blogger thinks it's time to react differently. The reason I'm talking about this now is because I've done a lot of posts on bullying and I've been in touch with a lot of younger LGBT people who have been bullied.

"In our town we had a recent tragedy in which a young life was lost. Due to the child’s age, details have not been released but there are rumors that bullying may have played a part."

The first reason I'm not sure about this approach is that the entire post to which I'm linking is based on hearsay, admittedly, by the author of the post. When it comes to something as important as this, I need solid facts, not misinformed allegations.

All that aside, I do agree, in theory, that we should teach our kids to speak up and never allow anyone to bully them. I was never bullied because I did, in fact, speak up...as a kid and an adult. But I'm also sensitive enough to know that not all kids have the capacity to speak up this way. Not to mention that some might also argue the approach to which I'm linking sends kids mixed signals about the difference between right and wrong. In other words, if you're an adult driving down the highway and another adult starts to bully you with road rage (we've all been there), do you shout "Fuck you, you miscreant," or do you get his/her license plate number and report him/her to the police. As a responsible adult you would take down his/her tag and a description of his/her car and report him/her to the police. As an irresponsible adult you'd pull over, scream right back in his/her face, call him/her a fucking miscreant, and then you'd become an integral part of an already explosive situation that's doomed...not the smartest thing to do.

I also know, from first hand experience with one particular nephew in middle school, that many schools nowadays have a zero tolerance policy with regard to anything that's considered offensive. This goes for the bully and for the kid being bullied. And I'm not sure shouting "Fuck you, you miscreant," would work well at his school. My nephew would not only wind up being bullied even more later, but he'd also become "classified" as a trouble maker in his school..."that kid with the bad mouth who shouts Fuck you, you miscreant"...and once a kid is classified that way, officially or unofficially, he or she will always be regarded this way. Schools these days, at least here in the east coast where I live, are dealing with major issues now. They don't need more problems.

So while an aggressive approach to bullying is sometimes the best approach, being smarter than the bully, and knowing that you are smarter than the bully, and reporting the incident and the bully to the right people is the smarter way to go. Knowing the meaning of big words like "miscreant" doesn't make you smart. It just makes you knowledgeable. Because all it takes is just one nutty bully, and in this world there are plenty of them out there, to hear "Fuck you, you miscreant," and that bully might not back down the first time.

Here's a link to the blog post, titled, "Fuck You, You Miscreant," where you can form your own opinion.

And, for those of us who don't know, which I would imagine is most of us, including most school teachers, (I have over 80 published works out and I've never used this word in the sentence before), here's the meaning of miscreant:

mis·cre·ant/ˈmiskrēənt/

Noun: A person who behaves badly or in a way that breaks the law.

Adjective:(of a person) Behaving badly or breaking a law.

Synonyms: noun. villain - scoundrel - blackguard - rascal - rogue - knave

adjective. mean - vile - base

Advice and Tips for Aspiring Writers...

2012-01-14T16:58:00.000-08:00

When I came across the blog post I'm linking to below I had to share. I couldn't agree more with everything in the post. And if you're an aspiring writer you'll want to check it out.

Number one is especially important. I hear a lot of new writers talk about not having the time to write. I understand this, trust me I do. I owned two businesses for a long time and worked seven days a week dividing my time between the two businesses.

I still found time to write. Sometimes it was only a page a day. But I made a point to make the time.

Here are eight great tips I think are very important.

Found a Great Blog: "Frost Lord" by TD McFrost

2012-01-13T07:37:00.000-08:00

Those who follow me know how I get when I find a new blog I like. It happened late last night while I was web surfing with my tablet. The minute I read one post, and then checked out the blog links, I knew I'd wind up linking to this guy just by checking out the smart tasteful blogs he reads. (You can tell a lot about a person by the blogs he/she reads :)

I also like to cover a lot of territory here on this blog. I shy away from things too political and try to keep my posts objective. One of the areas I like to cover is all things publishing related. His blog is, indeed, publishing related. And scoping out fresh, young talented authors like this guy is probably one of the most important publishing related topics I can think of.

T.D. McFrost's blog, Frost Lord, is not only well written, it's done with a nice sense of humor. The "voice" is excellent. You can get there from here and check it out yourselves to see what I mean. I'm linking on my sidebar right now. I don't see that many blogs that make me want to read more all that often, and when I do I zoom in on them as fast as I can.

Here's his profile, "Secret Identity," taken verbatim from the blog, so you can see what I'm talking about regarding his sense of humor.

Hi, my name is Tyson Devon McFrost but you may call me Frost Lord. ^_^

I'm 22 years old, I live under the sink and I'm a superhero. Now I know some of you are wondering "Hey, what's this superhero doing blogging when he should be saving the world?" Well, the thing is: I'm lazy. And it's not my mom's fault ('cause the lord knows she sure tried), it's just that there's so much "human" stuff to do.

I mean, my goodness, where do I begin?

I love surfing huge, gnarly waves; I love taking my bike up on mountain trails; I love archery (I'm quite good); I love fried chicken, gravy and mashed potatoes; I love girls with a sense of humor, glasses, intelligence and six toes; I love animals, especially dogs, lions, tigers snakes, kinkajous, ferrets and mice; I love my mom, my sisters and my abs; but above all else I lurveeeee VIDEO GAMES!

I'm a nerd, really--a supernerd!--and that's just how I like it.

There are a lot of things about me that will surprise you. One of the more thrilling details is the fact that I knew Rihanna. Yes, I'm talking about the superstar singer with red hair. We were friends once, but I was foolish enough to mess that up when I pushed her into a river and caused her to bruise her elbows. She taddled, my mom whopped me and we never spoke again.

Ah yes, fond memories they were...

Working on Another Historical...

2012-01-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

I wish there were someone around to kick me when I start projects like this. I always say I don't like writing historicals. But the truth is that I just don't like the concept of writing them. It takes too long to do the research and I like things to move fast. When you're writing a historical you have to stop and triple check facts, and sometimes you even have to cross reference to find out if there are discrepancies. The problem is that once I'm really into the story I can't help but love it.

A Young Widow's Promise, which is a civil war romance, took me years to write. One reason I didn't release it was because I loved it so much I didn't want to let go of it. Only those who have suffered public reviews can understand this. And with this book I was checking facts right down to the wire until the day it was released. Another reason why I'm not fond of doing this research is that I can't help but question how they know the information is true or not. No one nowadays was around in the year 1860, so how can anyone really be certain something did or didn't happen. I know there are strong arguments against what I just said. But I still can't help wondering. And there have been times when I've taken historical facts and written about them even though I questioned them silently. The best you can do is trust someone with more knowledge about history. The least you can do is try to get it right given the information available to you at the time.

I swore when I finished A Young Widow's Promise I wouldn't do another historical for at least two more years. But like A Young Widow's Promise, the story I've been working on for the past two weeks is something I've always wanted to write and the timing right now is perfect. I'm between Virgin Billionaire books. I just submitted a book that will be published under one of my pen names. And this particular topic I'm writing about is something I've always wanted to write about. But more than that, it's a m/m historical and extremely sexy. This time, unlike with A Young Widow's Promise, I'm targeting my usual audience.

But I do swear this is my last historical for the next two years. I'd like to focus my short stories more on westerns for the next year. I enjoy writing them and reading them. I see a lot out there, but the ones I've read just don't seem very sexy to me. And if I get the urge to write another historical anytime soon, I'm coming back to this post and reading my own words.

I wish I could post more about the subject of the historical I'm working on. It's just too soon to talk about it right now. I will post more in the coming weeks. I'm hoping to have it submitted to the publisher by early next week. And then we'll probably take another few weeks of editing. It should be out by late February, which if I'm counting the days right, will be perfect timing.

List of Cities with Large Percentage of Gay Households

2012-01-12T07:22:00.000-08:00

I recently read something on social media where they listed a few cities with large percentages of gays. Some of the cities struck me as unlikely, so I did a little research and found this web site I'm linking to right now.

I'm not knocking the other list. For all I know, it could be accurate. But the one I'm linking to now seems more accurate to me, based on my own personal experience and what I know about the gay community.

Needless to say, Wilton Manors, FL is first on the list to which I'm linking. The photo above is from a real estate listing in Wilton. I can't tell you how many gay couple I know who have winter places in Wilton Manors or have moved to Wilton Manors permanently. I've thought about getting something small down there myself just because there is such a large gay community.

It didn't surprise me to see Palm Springs as number three. I've thought about going there, too. Mostly because so many of my gay friends from New Hope have already moved out there. And those who haven't moved, do spend a great deal of time there during the winter months.

Here's the link. When reading this, I didn't find any surprises. And that's because the gay people I know tend to talk about these things often. And they tend to live in places where there are larger percentages of other gay people.

The Gay Gourmet: Michael Munoz

2012-01-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

Although I love where I live in New Hope, Bucks County, PA, this is yet another reason why I'd seriously think about relocating to Manhattan again. I always feel like I'm missing all the fun. Even though I'm only an hour and a half away from NY, it's still a schlep to get there, and traffic is never, never good.

Michael Munoz, The Gay Gourmet, is having a celebration. I've blogged about him before. The information is below. This is definitely something I'd attend if I lived in the city, and it wouldn't be to promote books. It would be strictly for fun. And to see how cute Michael is in person, too.

Deer in the Headlights by Levi Johnston

2012-01-11T08:22:00.000-08:00

While going through my reading list last night, I noticed that I'd made a note to check out Levi Johnston's book, "Deer in the Headlights." I'm still reading Merv Griffin's bio, and two different novels. But nothing is really keeping my interest right now. This happens every so often and I try to find something that I normally wouldn't read.

In this case, it's going to be Levi Johnston's book. I'm doing it partly because it isn't something I'd normally read and partly because I'm curious to hear his version of what's been played out in the press. I know people have strong opinions about Levi, in both directions. But I honestly don't have any. To me he seemed like an overzealous kid, with a little too much testosterone and not enough knowledge. And when he got caught up in the vicious cycle of the Palin family, he wound up over his head. Trust me, I'm not making any specific commentary about the Palin family. Frankly, I couldn't care less about them unless one of them were actually running for office. But, in a general sense, it would be impossible to believe that people who have been so highly publicized in the media aren't pros at media manipulation. In other words, like them or not, none of them are simple folk with simple dreams. And I'd like to read Levi's side of the story.

What's Foursquare?

2012-01-11T07:19:00.000-08:00

I joined another social network about a month ago called Foursquare, thanks to a facebook friend I met about a year ago. Incidentally, this facebook friend lives about three miles away from me. We're not just blowing smoke up each others butts through cyberspace. Had it not been for facebook, I probably wouldn't have gotten to know this guy at all.

Here's a web address to Foursquare, https://foursquare.com/, so you can see what it's all about (for some reason the link won't work). I think you can either use an iPhone or an Android to do this. After fifteen years of having the same cell phone plan, and basically the same cell phones which I upgraded every two years when I signed a new contract, I decided to switch to an iPhone and I'm starting to really enjoy it.

From what I've gathered so far, Foursquare is a social network about locations, linking people together all over the world. I'm just starting out and I don't have as many friends as other people on Foursquare. But I saw that one of my friends is my good blogging buddy, Mary Gersham, and a few other people I've known online for a while. And, just to keep it real, I've met other local people in my area just through Foursquare. One of them is a really nice guy who owns furniture business near Princeton, NJ, which isn't far from where I live. He's also a very hot guy, too. But that's another story for another post.

Now, if your only goal with social media is to promote yourself as an author...or as anything else...I'm not sure Foursquare is the right social network for you. But then again, if you're only using social media to promote yourself, you're missing the entire point of social media and you probably shouldn't be there in the first place. The sad fact is that while people might want to get to know you as a person on social media, they couldn't care less about the book you wrote until they get to know you. This is huge mistake I've seen authors do since social media started getting popular. And there's nothing more annoying than receiving a private message or a blunt announcement that says something to the effect of "Read my book, etc..." The first thing I do when I see these things is delete. I'm sure others do the same thing, too.

But Foursquare seems to be fun. You can "check in" to destinations wherever you are. I stopped at my local Farm Market last Sunday, Maximucks, which is located, literally, in the middle of nowhere, and I was able to check in there. The owners were stunned they were even on Foursquare. You can also become "mayor" if you check in often enough. I think you can go even higher than that. You receive points, and information about dining out. And if you travel a lot, I would imagine it can come in handy in more ways than one.

I'll post more about it as I learn more about it. Right now I'm still at that stage where I'm learning the basics and making a few mistakes. I have "badges" and I'm not sure how to use them. But you can follow me there with my name, Ryan Field.

A Nice Surprise This Morning...

2012-01-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

When I went online this morning I had three things on my mind: an interview I've been promising I'll do, getting up a new blog post about an interesting aspect in gay relationships/marriages, and getting out an invoice to my publisher for a book that was submitted last week. I like to get these things out of the way fast so I can start writing. Right now I'm working on a short story that I want to submit before the end of the week for Lori Perkins's new football anthology.

But while I was checking my e-mails I found the photo above. All things stopped and I went directly to facebook to say thank you. The photo was posted on my wall by my blogging buddy, Ryan. Here's Ryan's blog, a guy in love. His posts have always resonated with me because I can identify with a lot of the things he's experienced. I'm linked to him in two places here on the blog. I'm also linked to him way down deeper inside. I've watched him grow from a kid, blogging about what it's like to be a gay teenager, into a strong, smart man who just seems to get better and better.

I'm bad with time, but it has to be at least seven years since I first stumbled across Ryan's blog. I've seen him go through ups and downs...mostly ups. He's made me laugh more than anyone I know just by being there when I was going through downs. And we've established a trusting friendship through e-mails that I cherish. The only thing left to do is meet in person and give him a hug. He lives in Florida; I live in Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. That's not easy to do. But I hope one day I get a chance to do this in person.

Update: Fred Karger in New Hampshire

2012-01-09T16:07:00.000-08:00

While I'm not taking any sides politically in this primary...or in the upcoming election, I am posting info as I receive it about Fred Karger, because he is the first openly gay man to run for President and he's making history right now. Twenty years from now, he'll will be considered ahead of his time.

This e-mail was sent to me by the Fred Karger campaign:

Tomorrow is the first-in-the-nation Primary and Fred has been very busy campaigning all over the Granite State. Our final commercial, "Fed Up" has been running throughout New Hampshire for a week and getting an excellent response. It was produced and directed by Jhonmar Castillo, Interactive Creative Director of Moka Productions. Click on image below to view.

New Release: The Virgin Billionaire's Reversal of Fortune

2012-01-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

The ninth book in the Virgin Billionaire series has been released today. I've already posted about it here. And I'll post more very soon.

You can check it out here. And I'm sure that if it's not on most web sites where e-books are sold now, it will be by the end of the week.

Interesting Gay Facts and Stories...

2012-01-09T07:10:00.001-08:00

Most of the time I do these posts because I like to go back and read a lot of these things, too. Especially when I'm using my android tablet or iPhone. I find it more difficult to do searches on tablets than I do on a regular computer. So if it's on the blog, it's easy access.

Here's one with interesting facts and stories. They won't allow copying and pasting, not even if you give them full credit and promote them (one of those!) ...so I have to link and you have to click. But it's worth the effort.

Here's another, with a few samples below.

1. The first Gay Pride parades were held the weekend of June 27 and 28, 1970 in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They were organized to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

2. The rainbow flag as a gay pride symbol made its debut at the San Francisco Pride Parade in 1978. Harvey Milk asked his good friend Gilbert Baker to design a unifying symbol for the gay community and the rainbow flag was the result.

And this one is priceless.

•There are over 400 known animals that engage in homosexual practices
•Male lions will engage in same sex practices until they encounter a mixed pride
•Many cheetah brotherhoods only allow male members
•Male Orang Utans can retract their penises to create a cavity for other males to penetrate
•Rhesus Macaques and the Big Horn Sheep are one of the few animals that has anal sex
•River dolphins are known to insert their penis into the blowhole of another male’s head

New Release Preview: "Cruising"

2012-01-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

I have a story coming out in a new release from Cleis Press, "On the Bathroom Floor."

The title of the anthology is "Cruising," and it was edited by Shane Allison. I've worked with him before and I've always been more than happy with the end result.

You can read more about it here, on Amazon.

And here are the pre-release details:

List Price: $14.95
Price: $10.17 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Deal Price:
You Save: $4.78 (32%)
Pre-order Price Guarantee. Learn more.

This title has not yet been released.
You may pre-order it now and we will deliver it to you when it arrives.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

I'm sure it will also be available in digital format very soon and I'll post more when it is.

What do Fred Karger and RuPaul Have in Common?

2012-01-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

This morning while watching the news on TV I heard that RuPaul visited New Hampshire. Then I read about it online. The info was easy to get; only one click. He wore an unusual pale blue blazer and some type of interesting cap.

"I am not Ron Paul!" shouted RuPaul, the famous drag queen (wearing men's street clothes), at the top of his lungs inside a cramped diner here, a picturesque little restaurant that presidential candidates have visited for years. "And I am not running for president of the United States!," he added.

I know Fred Karger has been in New Hampshire, too. He's that openly gay dude who is making history by making a serious attempt to run for President. Whenever I see him he's usually wearing a conservative business suit or something equally tasteful. I had to do a longer search for find online info about Fred Karger in New Hampshire, as you can see from this link.

Fred Karger will not win the 2012 Republican nomination. But he has at least made history as the first openly gay candidate to run in the race.

Campaigning fiercely in New Hampshire last week, Karger, 61, does not really see it that way. He proudly wears a rainbow flag lapel badge on his suit and is (obviously) pro-gay marriage, but he finds most voters do not care too much about his sex life.

The problem was I didn't hear anything about Fred Karger in the mainstream media; just RuPaul. I have nothing against RuPaul. I like him/her. I also think she/he is extremely smart and knows how to work the gay deal better than most gays I know.

I just find it interesting that the only thing Fred Karger and RuPaul have in common is that they were both in New Hampshire recently. One of them clearly received more attention than the other, and I have a feeling the reason is exactly the same as it always is.

If I were Fred Karger, I would be very tempted to do something interesting; just for fun. I know Fred would never do this. It's just not his style. I might be tempted, but I'd probably never do it either because it's not my style. But wouldn't it be interesting to see what would happen if Fred Karger put on lipstick and earrings on one of his stops on the campaign trail?

I'd bet anything the mainstream media, from Fox to CNN, would pay attention to him then.

Openly Gay African-American, Republican Mayor in New Jersey

2012-01-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

I went to college in Florham/Madison, NJ, and my family had a summer home in Lake Hopatcong, NJ, for over forty years. I still consider this area home. I grew up, at least part of the year, in Morris County, NJ, not far from Chatham, where this news is taking place.

It seems times are changing in more ways than one. Now there's an openly gay, African-American mayor, who is also a Republican, in Chatham, NJ. For those who don't know, Chatham is a very exclusive town, not far from where Jackie O used to ride on weekends.

You can read more about it here.

Here are the first few lines, taken verbatim from LGBTQ Nation.

CHATHAM, N.J. — Bruce Harris was sworn in this week as Mayor of the borough of Chatham, N.J., and became what is believed to be the first openly gay, black Republican mayor in the country.

Harris, an attorney and 30-year resident of Chatham, said he did not enter politics to break barriers, but “I have felt it is my duty to serve the community,” reported the Daily Record.

Subjunctive Mood...

2012-01-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

At the risk of boring everyone to death, this is a post I've had on my mind for a while. This is something I see all the time. I make the mistake, too, when I'm rushing through blog posts or e-mails.

But I try to get it right in manuscripts. And I've even had experiences where editors have tried to correct something I did right by inserting incorrect edits with regard to the subjunctive mood.

It's basic En101. Here's a link where it's explained very well.

And here are a few examples that make it so easy you'll never have to wonder about subjunctive mood again.

If I were you, then I would not do that.
I am not you, however, so I use the subjunctive to express this hypothetical or counterfactual condition. Especially note that the modern usage If I was you is completely incorrect.

If only she were here, then she would speak up.
She is not here, however, so the subjunctive expresses that fact appropriately. Again, If only she was has drifted into modern usage and should be avoided.

We should act as if he were watching.
We doubt that he is watching or know that he is not.

It is as though she were here.
We know she is not here, but it seems so.

As stated above, these mistakes have "drifted into modern usage." And I know plenty who would argue the point. But it's important to know the difference.

There are more examples here.

Harry Connick Jr.- On The Street Where You Live

2012-01-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

Cover Preview: The Virgin Billionaire Reversal of Fortune

2012-01-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

I'll post more about this book soon. This is an interesting book in the VB series because the title can be misleading.

For those who have read other books in the series, they know that Luis's last name is Fortune. The title revolves more around Luis's last name than it does around Jase's money.

I didn't like the idea of Jase losing his money, but I did like the idea of Luis finding out what it would be like to be with Jase when he didn't have money. So I set up a plot where Luis winds up going back in time and meeting Jase when Jase is only eighteen years old. Of all the books in the series I've written, I think I had the most fun with this one. Who wouldn't want to go back in time, if just for a day, and find out what it was like to meet the person they are in love with as an eighteen year old?

Fred Karger Running for President...

2012-01-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

For those who still don't know, there is an openly gay man running for President. His name is Fred Karger, with a hard G, and I've been posting about him for a while.

You can read more about him here. You can even see him speak in a video.

The reason I'm posting this right now is because of an e-mail exchange I just had with a very good lesbian friend in Brooklyn. We've both been following what's been going on with Fred Karger and we're both surprised that we're not hearing more about him. Most of the people we know in the lgbt community don't even know about him, which means they can't form an opinion about him one way or the other. The information is not getting out there.

I've watched Fred Karger speak. He's a fairly normal looking guy, who speaks just like any other fairly normal looking guy. Although he's a Republican, he's for all lgbt rights, as far as I can see. And I can't help but wonder that if Fred Karger spoke and acted more like Carson Kressley would he be getting more attention from the mainstream media?

I honestly don't know the answer to this for sure. But I can't help wondering, because it seems as if the only way a gay man can get attention in the mainstream is to go on Oprah and make people laugh.

Come on folks, just because the mainstream media has failed us once again, it doesn't mean we can't at least check him out and listen to what he has to say. You don't have to agree with him. All you have to do is know about him. This is important. And it is making history right now, as I write this post.

Digital Publishing In Russia...

2012-01-06T07:50:00.000-08:00

The first article I'm linking to about e-books in Russia is about a year old, but I think it's still relevant. I've received a lot of the same feeback from my Russian readers (and readers in other eastern European countries) and in many ways I can sympathize with them.

This next article is even more interesting. It's from a blog titled "Thoughts on Digital Publishing," and this time it breaks some of the stereotypes about digital publishing in Russia.

I wish I could comment more on the topic. But all I know is what I hear from my Russian readers first hand. And speaking from an ethical standpoint, I'd never repeat anything personal anyone has said to me.

I value the opinions of readers, and I hope they continue to contact me and let me know more about what they want, knowing that I respect their need to remain anonymous. I'm especially interested in what readers in Russia and other eastern European countries think about e-books.

I will say this. The most interesting thing about e-books in Russia is that the concerns aren't very different from the concerns about e-books in the US, which includes fair prices, quality content, and the ability to share the same way they would share print books.

Sending Good Thoughts...

2012-01-05T18:15:00.001-08:00

My good friend and blogging buddy, Ryan, is going through knee surgery this week and I wanted to do something to show that a lot of people are thinking about him and wishing him well.

He had the same surgery a few years ago, you can read more about it here on his blog.

He's one of those selfless people who is always trying to do good for other people. Hate to see him have to go through this so soon.

The Peter Principle and Publishing Blogs

2012-01-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed that some publishing blogs are becoming so boring I don't even bother going there more than once a week. And these are blogs I used to love to read daily just to see what kind of information was up or what kind of advice was being offered.

Some don't even bother to post anymore. And these were regular daily publishing bloggers that posted something every day no matter what happened. I'm wondering if it's just that blogging is beginning to slack off because of other social media? Or is it that the publishing blogs I used to follow have run out of things to say?

For the life of me, I can't understand how anyone writing a publishing blog these days could run out of things to say. We are living in the most exciting times of the biggest publishing revolution since Johannes Gutenberg. In the past year or two there have been times I've actually felt swamped because of so many changes.

And yet I go to my favorite old bloggers, who have been writing great publishing blogs for a long time, and I see the same old things being repeated over and over again. On literary agent blogs, it's all about queries, endless, endless queries. I understand and respect the need for giving out information on how to query. I think querying is an art in itself and prepares authors in many ways. But there is a point when it become monotonous. I mean how many goddamn times can you talk about how an author misspelled your name, or even worse, referred to a manuscript as a fiction novel because the poor sonofabitch didn't know better. I want to know about the book in question, not the spelling errors or misguided use of jargon. Most of the authors I know don't even bother to query anymore because they've had it.

My point isn't to bash any bloggers in particular. What I'd like to see is more information being handed out about all the changes happening in publishing. I read one review blog in particular and I see links about all kinds of exciting changes happening almost daily and I'm not even all that fond of this particular blog. But this review blog is getting it right. The blogger has a passion for books and publishing and it shows in her posts. More than that, she's giving readers valuable information they normally wouldn't get anywhere else. She's been in top of digital publishing information and she gets points for this.

I would assume that most people who have been working in "traditional" publishing, like lit agents and editors, are thinking about how they will evolve with these changes. I started thinking this way eight years ago and slowly made the changes I thought were necessary for someone who writes in my genre. One of these days, in another post, I will go into detail about how what I write has evolved in the last five years. Right now, I'm still thinking about the future. I don't think anyone can predict anything that's going to happen in publishing in the next five years.

But at least talk about it and discuss it, instead of pretending it doesn't exist. Three years ago e-books were less than 1% of the market. A publishing professional sat at my dinner table and laughed at this, and then disagreed with me when I said the numbers would rise. This same publishing professional is now trying to figure out ways to get backlisted books up on Amazon in digital format...in secret. I think I just read digital books are now 30% of the market. I could be wrong on the exact numbers, so don't quote me. But the fact remains that e-books aren't going to disappear.

The main point I'm trying to make is that we're all seriously interested in learning about the changes happening in publishing, and reading about them from publishing professionals. There is nothing wrong with query posts and sticking to basics. But let's move on to something a little more stimulating once in a while. It's really getting tired. I know I'm still hungry for more information. I'm just not finding the resources anymore to get this information like I used to. And I miss that.

Then again, maybe it's just me. Maybe I've been reading a few of these blogs for too long and maybe I'm expecting too much from them. If you believe in the Peter Principle, and the fact that we all do eventually reach our own level of personal incompetence, it makes sense that nothing will last forever.

So We're All Supossed to Know What GPS Is? WTF?

2012-01-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

This is a little rant about something I read on a book review blog the other day. The reviewer in question slammed a story because one of the characters didn't know what GPS was. It was suggested in this review that anyone under the age of 70 should know what GPS is, and therefore the author didn't know what she was doing.

Well.

I find this interesting. I'm forty; I still run every morning, still have a thirty-two inch waist, and have been told I could pass for someone in his thirties...well under the age of 70. I own two cars and both have GPS. I have an iPhone with apps for GPS. And I honestly could not tell you, in detail, what the hell GPS is about or how to use it.

Why?

Because I don't care. I don't need GPS at this point in my life, and frankly I'm not even sure I ever will. I know it's some kind of navigational tool. I would imagine it comes in handy for people who travel for work, especially in sales. I'm not knocking GPS. But I'm a writer. I work at home. I know how to drive into to New York and find the Lincoln Tunnel without any problems at all. I rarely take the Holland, but could find it just as easily if I had to. I know how to get to any place between Maine and S. Beach Miami without any problems at all. I know how to get to the airport and the train station. If I need specific directions, which is rare, I stop and ask for them. Or, print out directions from google.

I'm sure there will come a day when I do need GPS. I like knowing that it is there just in case I ever do need it. I've even been telling myself that I have to sit down and learn how to use it...just in case that day comes when I need it. But at this point, GPS isn't something I need.

Now, this is interesting. My parents are retired therapists. They have GPS in both their cars, plus on their iPhones. They are both over 70 and they both use their GPS all the time. In fact, they don't go anywhere without turning it on. They know so much about GPS it could put you to sleep.

My point is that I don't see how a character in a book not knowing what GPS is should be relevant to a book review. As an author, there are things the reader should take for granted and not question. If an author thinks a character shouldn't know what GPS is, I don't think it should be questioned. I just finished a mystery romance where a character didn't know how to operate his GPS. I explained why he doesn't know how to operate it. But I don't think it's fair to assume that just because most people care about GPS the rest of the world should care.

And when I see reviews like this, those that pick out snitty little things like GPS, I can't help but wonder what kind of person the reviewer is. What would make a person think this way? To assume we all know about GPS, and then condemn an author for not thinking this way. But more than that, if I had been reviewing that particular book, I would have been more concerned about the author's poor use of dialogue tags...there were adverbs in every example in the review. I would have been more concerned about the author's use of said bookisms...he grumbled, mumbled, and stumbled, three lines in a row, no joke. But the last thing I would have cared about was that the character didn't know what GPS is.

The Interesting Thing About Feet...

2012-01-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

When I wrote a short story about a guy with a foot fetish, I had no idea I would be getting the responses I've been getting. I had a feeling there were more people out there who are interested in this topic, so to speak, but never expected to hear from so many...and so soon after the story was released.

Evidently, at least from the feedback I'm getting, this fetish involving feet doesn't have any restrictions either. I've received e-mails from men and women, gay and straight. And almost all reply with the same tone: discretion. And I appreciate that as an author who writes erotic fiction. Discretion is probably more important to the readers of erotica of any kind than any book review ever posted online. We still live in a society where things like foot fetishes, no matter how harmless they are, aren't taken seriously in public. In private, however, I'm learning this goes far deeper than I ever thought it would.

I honestly can't say when I'm going to write another story or book that focuses on foot fetish. I also know that a lot of people don't like it...I'm finding it's one of those things that people either love or hate. And, I don't want to get locked into one particular theme, ever. But I will continue to add this into other books I write. Even though the book won't revolve around a foot fetish I see no reason why it can't be explored in one or two scenes in a book. And I promise I won't make a joke out of it.

Here's a link where you can read more about the book.

And here's an unpublished excerpt.

When I walked into the gym, I saw these two
guys I didn’t know very well. Though I didn’t
know them by name, I’d seen them around
campus a lot. They were shooting hoops at the
other end of the gym. They were the only guys in
there, and when I opened the door, the clank from
the metal handle echoed so much, they both
stopped shooting and glanced in my direction. I
nodded and continued to the locker room, feeling
awkward and out of place. I’ve always found it
interesting that I often feel as if I’m intruding on
people because I’m gay. It shouldn’t define me;
yet it does.

The one guy shooting hoops was about six
feet tall, with long, lanky arms and legs. His head
wasn’t completely shaved, but his hair was so
short, all it would have taken was a few swipes
from a sharp razor to make him bald. He had a
dark olive complexion and a dark, well-trimmed
goatee that framed his lips. His legs were hairy.
He wore navy blue basketball shorts that sagged
below his knees, a white T-shirt that coveredmost of his crotch, and white Adidas basketball
shoes with those sexy little white ankle socks.

The other guy bouncing the ball was a little
shorter, closer to my height. He had dark curly
hair but not as short as the taller guy’s. He didn’t
have any facial hair, but he had the same olive
complexion. His baggy basketball shorts were
bright, school bus yellow and his T-shirt burnt
orange. From what I could see at that distance,
he wore bright green Adidas basketball shoes
with black ankle socks.

I’d seen both of these guys walking around on
campus more than once. They were always
together; they always kept to themselves. If I’d
run into them on a dark street, they would have
intimidated me. They looked like trouble. I’d
heard other people talking about them in the
student union and no one seemed to know what
their deal was.

Different Approaches in Getting Published...

2012-01-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

One way to get published is to take the traditional route. You write something wonderful, finish it up, make sure it's as good as it can possibly be, and then you start querying literary agents. Don't even think about contacting a large publisher on your own. As the system stands now, and has stood since God was a boy, there is no way you'll ever get through to an editor at a large publishing house unless you go through a gatekeeper...which is the literary agent.

If you don't know how to query a literary agent, you can start by checking out this link. This is a literary agent who offers free advice about querying that's always as accurate as it can get about the query process. This link is a good example of the query process, as it stands now.

There's also another approach. You can look into digital publishing and see what's been happening there for a very long time. You can check out this link to see what I'm talking about.

This is a publisher's blog where there are calls for submission all the time. You don't need a literary agent to contact them. You can do this on your own. Some offer advances, and they work exactly like "traditional" publishers work. The link I provided is only one example. There are many digital publisher web sites and calls for submission popping up daily for new authors. Silver Publishing, so I hear, is doing this all the time and keeping authors working round the clock. And I'm also hearing it's happening in all genres.

The last two novels I read...not including the Merv Griffin bio which is non-fiction and pure dish I paid way too much for...have been digital first books, written by new authors, and either self-pubbed or pubbed by a digital press. Both were excellent.

I'm not commenting one way or the other on which publishing approach is the best. That's up to the individual author, not me. We all have choices, and as responsible adults were are supposed to base our decisions on the information given to us. I'm just passing out information and showing new authors there are, indeed, choices.

Are Book Pirates Following This Important News?

2012-01-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

This is interesting. Below I've copied and pasted the basics from this link, verbatim. And there's another link within this article that will lead you to a place where there is even more information. If you've ever pirated anything, you might want to check it out. If you've ever been pirated, you might want to check it out, too.

Basically, large Internet giants like Facebook and Google are protesting SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). They say it could lead to censorship. As an author who has experienced a great deal of piracy, I've learned a lot about this topic in the past three years. I've also refrained from forming any huge opinions as well. And I will continue to remain objective with regard to book pirates.

But I do have very strong opinions about censorship, especially if it involves online censorship. That's something I can live without.

Google, Facebook, Amazon Planning Internet Blackout to Protest "Big Brother" SOPA Bill by Lauren Kelley

The debate over SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) has pitted Hollywood executives and the Republican-supported Chamber of Commerce against, well, basically everyone who enjoys the free and open Internet, with critics saying that the legislation could lead to widespread Internet censorship.

Among those critics are major websites like Facebook, Amazon, and Google, which are considering imposing an Internet "blackout" in protest of the bill. The Daily Mail reports:

The battle over the SOPA bill has seen leading web firms square off against Hollywood media companies in a trade-off between Internet freedom and intellectual property rights.

Now it could burst into the open as technology giants are planning to 'censoring' their own homepages, according to a leading Internet lobby group.

Sites such as Google, Amazon and Facebook could temporarily replace their usual homepage with a black screen and a message asking users to contact politicians and urge them to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act.

The move could come as early as January 24, when the bill is due to be debated in the House of Representatives.

One of the only major web companies to have supported SOPA is GoDaddy, which was shamed into reversing its support after throngs of customers (including heavy hitters like Wikipedia) moved their domain names elsewhere.

Read more about the background of the bill at the Daily Mail

P&E Reader Poll and "World-Mart" by Leigh M. Lane

2012-01-04T07:58:00.001-08:00

This isn't an actual review. I still have about one quarter of the book left to read. And those who read this blog know I don't like doing full reviews very often anyway. But I've read enough to know that I'm enjoying this book enough to recommend it to other people. I've also read other work by this same author and I've never been disappointed.

"World-Mart," by Leigh M. Lane, is definitely one of those books you'll keep with you for a long time. It's dystopia, speculative sci-fi. It's well written with a quick pace, a comfortable tone, and the reader is drawn into the story from the beginning. It makes the reader think about what could happen, and hope and pray it doesn't happen.

I will post more about "World-Mart" when I'm finished, to wrap things up in a more organized way. But I wanted to post something about it now because there is a reader poll going on over at P&E and if anyone out there has already read "World Mart" I'd like to encourage them to go over to P&E and cast a vote for it.

I plan on voting as soon as I'm finished, which will probably be sometime on Friday. But if you have read this book and you do want to vote for it, you have to go over before January 10th.

Here are the rules for the P&E reader poll.

You can vote for "World Mart" here. After that, you'll have to leave your name and e-mail address. When you "submit" you'll be taken to a page that will explain everything.

And if you haven't read "World Mart" yet, you can check it out here on Amazon.

Short Galley Preview: "Cruising" A New Anthology by Cleis Press

2012-01-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

I just finished reviewing the galleys for a new anthology that's being released by Cleis Press. The editor is Shane Allison. I've worked with him before and I consider him an artist and author, not only an editor.

My story is titled, "On the Bathroom Floor." I wrote it a long time ago, partly based on true experiences. My blogging buddy, Matthew Darringer, would like this book...at least I think he would. It gets into the reality of how gay men cruise, without making any political or social apologies to anyone. It is what it is; like it or not.

On the other hand, it's not romance. This is erotica about gay men. The subject matter is for adults only and it's different from what I usually write with regard to both content and storyline. And that's because I'm following the guidelines of the editor and the publisher. It's the kind of fiction I started writing twenty years ago as a freshman in college, for publishers like Cleis Press, before there was even a hint of something called m/m romance.

I'll post more when the book is released. Here's a quick excerpt that I've edited so it won't be x-rated on a pg-rated blog. It's also raw, before the line edits were submitted, so there might be an error or two.

On the
Bathroom
Floor
Ryan Field

When the weather is warm I like to jog at a small state park
on the outskirts of town, where it’s thick with tall, green
cedar trees; where the wildflowers dot the hills with colors of
the rainbow in spring and where extremely horny straight guys
stop to use the restrooms on their way to work. It doesn’t happen
every morning; about two or three times a month is enough to
create a certain anticipation of great pleasure so that the jogging
itself never becomes repetitive. It’s a beautiful park,
with paved walking trails and open pavilions and a Pennsylvania
stone restroom haphazardly glazed in lime-green moss.

This place is frequented often by guys wearing jeans and
work boots, driving huge, extended-cab pickup trucks on their
way to construction jobs. Married men in dark suits that smell
like aftershave, driving four-door Japanese sedans on their way
to office jobs in the city come, too. Men of all ages and from
all walks of life who stop to use the restrooms and see what’s happening on the down low.

Fred Karger's TV Commercial

2012-01-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

In the commercial, Fred Karger is wondering if we're fed up with the Republican party. I changed the title from the way it read on youtube.

And this is because I'm actually fed up with all politics these days...with both parties, across the board. Our leaders aren't acting in the best interests of the people anymore, they can't seem to get a grasp on the concept of bipartisanship, and the only ones who seem to be benefiting from our politicians are large banks and corporations who continue to slam us with high interest rates, unfair surcharges, and more red tape than even they know what to do with. I was speaking with a real estate friend this past weekend about the problems in getting mortgages. This alone is frustrating when you consider the corruption that's still going on. I could list everything item by item. But that would take too long.

Below is an interesting TV commercial by the Fred Karger campaign. He's openly gay and running for President. What he's saying resonates with me, as an Independent voter, to a certain extent. But what I really want to hear is that the next person who sits down in the oval office will be focusing on the people who need it the most, not the people making millions of dollars a year who screwed everything up in the first place. And so far, I haven't heard anyone say this at all.

A Regular Bud: A Story that Still Surprises Me

2012-01-03T09:15:00.000-08:00

When I wrote A Regular Bud as a digital short e-book, I never expected it to do what it has been doing ever since it was released.

It's been on more bestseller lists than I can name, because I don't usually keep track of these things...nor do I have google alerts set up. It's been on one web site's bestseller list since it was released. And now it's back on the publisher's bestseller list at number one. When I wrote it, I thought I was writing a little short story that would sell a few copies and I could add it to my list of publishing credits.

It constantly surprises me, mainly because I'm not sure what I did to make it resonate with readers. I've had more e-mails from this book than from anything else I've written. I'm half tempted to write a sequel, but then I have a feeling the sequel wouldn't go over as well at the original. I've been there before. Sequels don't always resonate the same way the original did.

You can check it out here at the publisher's web site. Or it can be found at almost all web sites where digital books are sold.

Book Review: Mardi Gras by A.B. Gayle

2012-01-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

I recently did an interview with Author A.B. Gayle, so I was a little hesitant about reading her work. The interview went well, in a way that surprised me. She asked questions as if she really "got" what I was trying to do with my books. My biggest concern about reading her work was that I might not like it.

However, the minute I began Mardi Gras I knew on page one I'd found something I was going to enjoy. I can tell by the first five pages, or less, whether or not a writer knows what he/she is doing with regard to actually crafting a novel or a short work of fiction. And nothing puts me off more than lack of knowledge and skill...said bookisms, dialogue tags with too many adverbs, no dialogue tags at all, too much dialogue that doesn't help move the story forward. For those who know better, it's not always easy to spot great writing. But bad writing is as transparent as low rent origin no matter how you try to dress it up.

From the first paragraph of Mardi Gras, I was drawn into the story by A.B. Gayle's neat, clean, tight writing style. Instead of reading a mundane romance, I knew I was reading that rare combination of literature and romance combined. The next aspect that caught my attention was the setting. The entire story revolves around Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia, which is someplace I've always wanted to go. The romance alone, for me, with respect to Australia, was more than enough to keep me reading. And the way the setting is described, in more than one place in the book, creates a detailed explanation that made me feel as though I were actually there. This is the kind of escape I'm looking for when I'm reading anything.

It's going to be difficult to get into the plot without giving out spoilers. But I will be careful. I don't want to ruin anything for those who haven't read this book. The main theme revolves around Damien, an American writer, who travels to Sydney for Mardi Gras. He's keeping his visit on the down low, because he's a journalist/blogger and he recently trashed Mardi Gras on his blog. He feels the event has drifted away from its original goals, and there's no political significance anymore. This, I believe, is something a lot of gay men can relate to these days everywhere. I'm forty years old and I've seen changes I'm not thrilled with when it comes to gay pride events. Damien, in the book, is fifty, and he seems to wish there was more integrity in these cultural events that used to mean so much to so many people. He's a character I liked from the beginning. There's nothing fake about him. He's tough, yet vulnerable.

The first surprise in the story involves a character Damien meets at the airport. This character is twenty-five years younger and he was sent to meet Damien. At first, I thought I could predict what would happen next. But I was wrong. I can't get into anymore now or I'll ruin it. Just trust me on this: you'll want to know more about this character, and his relationship with Damien, as the book progresses.

A few elements that resonated with me were things like Damien's blog, and how he relates to his blog readers and the people who comment on his blog regularly. It's a very current situation that a lot of people can relate to these days. And I don't always see this in fiction in the mainstream. I also liked the little tidbits of humor, sometimes riding the thin line of cutting edge. This is a quote with regard to Australian accents that I thought was perfect:

Even Meryl Streep had difficulty impersonating an Aussie.

Even though the story isn't too long...65...pages...I did see nice character development. Damien seems to grow warmer and more open as the story progresses. He drops a lot of his defenses. And he cares so much he's willing to settle for nothing more than an online relationship if that's what it takes to keep this young man in his life.

We'd only met physically for the first time less than twenty-four hours ago, but I knew, from months of interaction on the blog, just how stubborn he could be. If I crossed over the street before he saw me, he wouldn't follow. That would be the end; he would drop out of my life forever. I couldn't do it. No matter what had happened today . . . tonight, I hoped we could still have some degree of friendship, the ability to discuss issues that were important to both of us, even if only connected over the Internet.

Damien also seems to be planning for the future, even though he's not quite ready to admit this to himself. And he continues to grow from there. And, once again, this excerpt is an example of how wonderfully written this book is. It was one of those passages that I read more than once.

Here's something I think all of us can understand, men and women, gay or straight, when we become interested in someone younger.

This was too much information and too close to the bone. It was bad enough knowing I'd made an idiot of myself with a man so much younger than myself and now to find I came under the classification of 'one of those,' tired old men who chased boys who were barely legal.

I tried to pull my hand away, but he clasped it in both of his. "Instead, you were just so young, normal . . . ."

The author managed to pick up on all Damien's insecurities in one neat, short paragraph...and all the things I was thinking while I was reading between the lines of this book. I was actually dying for Damien, hoping and praying he wouldn't get shot down.

As for sex scenes and heat, there are a few. But I wouldn't classify this as a m/m romance with tons of hot sex. The sex that is there is appropriate to the story. In this case, anything more would not have worked with the story. And if the sex scenes that are there were to be removed, the story would still stand on its own. As I said earlier, this story has a literary feel to it in more ways than one. And when I'm reading something literary, I want the sex scenes to be incorporated in a way that makes them relevant to the story. Though I don't do this often myself, because I tend to write more sex in most books, I have done it with stories like Strawberries and Cream at the Plaza, and I know how hard it can be to make it work. A.B. Gayle did, indeed, make this work. The story didn't need anymore sex than it had.

To sum it up, this is a story where two people meet for the first time, one twenty-five years older than the other. They come from different backgrounds and cultures, and yet they have a great deal in common. But then they already know each other fairly well through an online experience, where they've already exposed many of their true feelings. It's also a story about confusion, and how online interaction can often mislead people into believing things that may or may not be accurate. As the story progresses, we feel hints of sorrow at certain points. We also feel the frustration and we want things to work out for Damien. I can't go into any more detail because I don't want to ruin the story for anyone. But if I did have a rating system, I would give this book five stars. And I will recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading m/m fiction without thinking twice.

About the author:

Unlike many authors, A.B. Gayle has not been writing stories all her life. Instead, she's been living life.

Openly Gay Candidate Fred Karger Wants to be Included in the NBC/Facebook Debates on January 8

2012-01-02T16:45:00.001-08:00

As I receive e-mails about Fred Karger, openly gay Republican who is running for President, I will post them here. As I've stated before, I have no idea yet for whom I'm voting in the next election. But I do feel the need to at least pass the word around about Fred Karger being that he's the only openly gay candidate I've ever seen run for President. I'd like to see history be made, too. What I'm posting below is taken verbatim from an e-mail I received from his campaign staff.

Basically, he's asking a number of people, including Mark Zuckerberg, to be included in the NBC/Facebook debate this Sunday, and he's giving what I think are good solid examples of why he should, indeed, be included in this debate.

January 2, 2012

Contact: Rina Shah
rina@fredkarger.com
202-507-9583

Fred to NBC/Facebook: Let Me In to Sunday's NH Debate

We sent the letter below to all the organizers of Saturday's Debate in New Hampshire. They have not publicly released the debate criteria, so by all reasonable standards, I should be allowed on that stage.

Please read my letter below:

January 2, 2012

Mr. Steve Capus
President of NBC News
30 Rockefeller Center,
New York, New York, 10112

Chuck Todd
Political Director
NBC News,
4001 Nebraska Avenue,
Washington, DC 20016.

Mark Zuckerberg
President & CEO
Facebook
1601 S. California Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94304

Katie Harbath
Associate Manager for Policy
Facebook
1611 Connecticut Ave NW.
Suite 300
Washington DC 20009

Betsy Fischer
Executive Director
Meet the Press, NBC News,
4001 Nebraska Avenue,
Washington, DC 20016

Re: Let Fred Karger into the NBC – Facebook Debate

Dear All:

I am writing to officially request an invitation to the NBC - Facebook Debate on Sunday January 8, 2012.

I am currently tied with Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum in two recent New Hampshire polls. New Hampshire’s WMUR TV and The Boston Globe have confirmed that I have spent more time campaigning in the Granite State than any other candidate for president. I have walked precincts and campaigned all over New Hampshire during my 25 visits. I have conducted more campaign events than any other candidate during my more than 200 days in the Granite State since February of 2010. I have met with nearly every editorial board: The Concord Monitor, Foster's Daily Democrat, The Nashua Telegraph, The Keene Sentinel , The Portsmouth Herald , The Citizen of Laconia and The Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. I was the first candidate to file in person for the New Hampshire ballot. I am now only one of eight Republicans actively running for president who will appear on Michigan’s GOP ballot in February, and I will be competing in other state primaries and caucuses as well.

Eight Is Enough

The overwhelming majority of Republican primary debates have included eight candidates. I am currently one of the top eight in the 2012 Republican presidential primary field since Herman Cain has suspended his campaign, Gary Johnson is seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party and it appears that Buddy Roemer is seeking the nomination of Americans Elect. I have scored 2% or 1% in more than a dozen national polls that have included me and have tied Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann , Jon Huntsman, Rick Perry and beat Rick Santorum in many of these. That is correct; I have tied all of my Republican presidential primary opponents in methodologically sound polls of primary voters except for Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

Mark McKinnon - Harvard Kennedy School Weigh in on Debates

Mark McKinnon, former Senior Media Advisor for President George W. Bush, Global Vice Chair for Hill & Knowlton and the Reidy Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, just published an extensive research paper on the 2012 Republican Primary Debates that will be released very soon. In his 30 page report, “Going Rogue: Time to Reform the Presidential Primary Debates,” Mr. McKinnon found that “the selection criteria for the 2012 Republican primary debates and forums have been constant only in the candidates excluded.” The four excluded candidates were my three peers and me. The other three have let the Republican Primary: Gary Johnson, Thaddeus McCotter and Buddy Roemer. The main criteria for these debates have been polling. With the help of researchers from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Mark McKinnon has proven that “given the insignificant difference between a one percent or 2 percent polling number, particularly early in the primary calendar, it is easy to question the entire system upon which the criteria for entering into primary debates has been constructed.” In his conclusion, McKinnon asserted, “The 2012 presidential primary debates went rogue.”

Extensive International, National and Regional Media Coverage

 Google’s search engine has 1,740,000 listings for me. I have been interviewed and profiled in thousands of stories including the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Jerusalem Post, the Observer, The Guardian, The OC Weekly and Chicago Magazine. BBC's HardTalk interviewed its first 2012 Republican candidate when Steven Sackur interviewed me. Fox News, ABC, MSNBC, CBS News, New Hampshire's WMUR, The Manchester Union Leader, The Des Moines Register, Politico and The Huffington Post all regularly include me in their lists of 2012 candidates. I have appeared on CBS, ABC, CNBC, NPR, Rachel Maddow, Comedy Central and Thomas Roberts’ show on MSNBC as well as hundreds more TV and radio shows.

NBC & Facebook Can Make History

The Time Has Come. I should be included in the NBC - Facebook Debate on January 8, 2012 with the other leading Republican candidates. As the only moderate Republican running for president this cycle, I have many different views on issues and many new ideas that have not yet been talked about in previous debates. As the first openly gay candidate of a major political party, my appearance on your debate stage will be historic. What a proud moment that will be for millions of Americans.

I look forward to hearing from you, and hope to see you in Concord next Sunday!

Thank you.

Best regards,

Fred Karger
fred@fredkarger.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We're sending thousands of pieces of direct mail to Independent voters with the same "Fed Up With the Republican Party?" message. Please help us send even more direct mail out to these important voters:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fred’s Campaigning in New Hampshire all Week

Heather from Bow, NH sent Kevin a text message yesterday:

"Just went to my town clerk and voted for Fred."

Heather goes to law school in Washington, DC and voted by absentee ballot since she will be out of state on January 10th, the day of the New Hampshire Primary.

Thank you Heather! What a great message to send the Republican Party - student support for the only moderate Republican candidate running for President.

In fact that is the closing theme of our campaign in New Hampshire.

We have a new commercial running statewide beginning tomorrow, and we’ll be sending thousands of pieces of direct mail to Independent and Republican voters with the "Fed up with the Republican Party?" theme.

Fred is tied with Bachmann and Santorum
 
With your help, I can beat Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum in the New Hampshire Primary. The last two New Hampshire polls have me tied with them! What a powerful message we could send the country if Fred Karger, the first openly gay candidate in history, could compete with the two most homophobic candidates running for President.

Jam Packed Schedule

We were all over the Granite State this past week. Today we are off to Peterborough, Keene and end up at a House Party at 7 pm tonight, Monday, January 2nd at Bob Thompson and Mike Jacobsen’s – 748 Beech St., Manchester.

We have lots of volunteers staying at the New Hampshire White House now and helping out.

Fred in the News

Here's some of the great New Hampshire Coverage we received this week:

Keene Sentinel

AOL's Patch.com

WMUR ABC TV

WMUR ABC TV

 Thanks for all your help and support. We will keep you posted on everything that we have going on this final week before the first-in-the-nation Primary next Tuesday.

Five for Fred – PLEASE HELP OUT

Please forward this email to 5 other New Hampshire voters. You will be a part of history.

Thank you so much and a very Happy New Year!!!
 
Best wishes,

Fred  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please help us continue to get our message out. It is making a difference. Send in a contribution today by clicking on the red button below. Thank you for your support!

What Do You Love or Hate About Publishers?

2012-01-02T09:21:00.001-08:00

I'd like this post to be an open thread, where anonymous comments are more than welcome...they are encouraged. In fact, please think twice about leaving your identity this time.

It's going to be something I'll leave up for a long time, and I'm not going to comment at all on the thread. Let me repeat: I am going to remain objective...on the outside looking in. This isn't about me, it's about what readers and authors think.

What I'd like to see are comments about all publishers in general, large or small; digital first or "traditional." What you love about them. What bothers you about them. I'd like to know what you think of them...or if you even bother to notice who is publishing a book or an author. You can rant. You can praise. It's an open comment thread for all.

Please do not use this thread to trash other authors or any specific books. Please do not trash editors or literary agents or book reviewers either. That's not what it's about and I will not publish any comments that are abusive toward authors or specific books, or that single any one person out.

This is strictly about publishers and how readers/authors feel about them.

Halfway Through Merv Griffin: A Life in the Closet

2012-01-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

I posted about this biography earlier, here. It's been taking me longer to read for two reasons: I've been busy reading other manuscripts, and I'm purposely making this bio last because I'm enjoying it so much.

I've also been following the reviews of this biography more closely than I do with other books I read. I'm still stunned by the negative reviews, which even go so far as to say the book was poorly written. Maybe these folks have different copies than I have. I'm reading the e-book. I haven't come across any mistakes that would cause me to leave a bad review.

The thing that interests me is that all the negative reviews almost sound as though they are coming from personal disappointment and hurt instead of valid, constructive criticisms. In other words, I can't help get the feeling that many who have read this book feel as if they've been told there is no Santa, no Easter Bunny, and no Good Fairy...pardon the very bad pun.

I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to all biographies I'm always a skeptic. I don't think it's possible to list every single aspect of anyone's life, especially not a complicated man like Merv Griffin who worked so hard to maintain a successful public persona. But I also believe that his public persona was very different from his private life. In a general sense, even though I doubt all the things I'm reading actually happened that way, I do believe they either could have happened or that it's very close to what might have happened.

There are certain segments of our society that always have, and still do, cover up anything gay related. It's most prominent in Washington, DC and in Hollywood. I once knew, personally, a senator who would come to New Hope on weekends with his very young gay lover and frequent the gay bars. He was a Democrat, a married man with children, and led a double life no one ever knew about. He's not the only one. As for Hollywood, the cover ups with gay men and women have been going on for years. The press knows about it and never reports it. Rock Hudson was a good example of this. And I'm sure there are still people out there who question all the things that have been written about his real life since his death.

I actually do, indeed, understand the need for this cover up. I'm not fond of it and I don't do it. But I understand it. There's still this weird judgment about gay people out there. And the reviews I'm reading about Merv Griffin's bio are classic. It's like people don't want to believe that he was a closeted gay man, who lived in private like all gay men live, and that he wasn't the sweet old bachelor we all were led to believe he was. And that's the part that bothers me the most. I don't blame Merv for keeping his gay life a secret. He did what he had to do in order to survive and keep his career.

I've read too many reviews about this bio that suggest there's something wrong with Merv's life in the closet. I'm getting the feeling that the disappointed that he was gay is so upsetting to some they don't want to believe it's true. And after reading these reviews, and seeing how disgruntled people are when they learn that Merv was gay and that he did have an active gay life that included plenty of sex, I can fully understand why he didn't come out of the closet. It would have been career suicide, especially in his day.

There are a few well known performers today that we suspect are gay and yet remain in the closet. I once saw one of them being discussed on a talk show and someone said, "He's not gay. If he were it wouldn't make sense to be in the closet nowadays." The audience laughed, the host agreed. But I know why a performer would prefer to remain in the closet, and most other gay men know this, too. Because once you come out of the closet there's no going back. And your life is going to change completely.

I'm still not sure how I'm going to review this bio. I'm waiting to see how the author wraps it up before I form any strong opinions. But I would suggest that all the readers who love m/m romance check it out. It's not escapism. It's not fantasy. But it will give you a realistic take on what it's like to be a gay man who can't come out of the closet. And, why some gay men don't come out of the closet and never will.

Tasteful Male Images..."Fit Hot Guy"

2012-01-01T17:00:00.001-08:00

If you're a fan of images of guys with great bodies that are always done in the best of taste, check out the following links.

It's called "Fit Hot Guys." It focuses on the male physique in an artistic, fundamental way I haven't seen before.

You can find Fit Hot Guys here on Facebook.

You can follow them on Twitter, here.

And here's a link to their blog, where you can see what I'm talking about up close.

I talk about authenticity sometimes when it comes to m/m romance, and how sometimes there's a lack of authenticity within the m/m romance community. I'm not getting into that anymore. I believe the truth always wins in the end, and karma has a great deal to do with that. I also think it's better to show than tell. And right now I'm pointing you in the direction of an authentic place to go, created and produced by an authentic gay man who has a passion for the male body, and who views the male body with an artistic eye and heart.

Civil Unions Now Legal in Delaware

2012-01-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

For those who haven't been following this, same sex civil unions are now legal in Delaware. The first one took place this weekend. I know Delaware well because I grew up about ten minutes away from Wilmington, DE, in Salem County, NJ. For those who've read A YOUNG WIDOW'S PROMISE and THE BACHELOR, you've seen that I've set both books in the Salem County, NJ/Wilmington, DE area.

And when I when I was growing up there, the topic of same sex civil unions wasn't even something we discussed in private, let alone in public. And just like legalizing same sex marriage in New York, this is one step closer to getting it recognized on a federal level, where we need it the most.

1st civil unions take place in Delaware
By KASEY JONES, Associated Press – 30 minutes ago
More than 400 people, including a U.S. senator, witnessed the first same-sex civil union in Delaware on New Year's Day.

Lawyers Lisa Goodman and Drewry Fennell were joined in the union by the Rev. Patricia Downing, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Wilmington, where the Sunday afternoon ceremony took place.

Goodman and Fennell have been partners for 14 years. Goodman is a lawyer who led the advocacy group Equality Delaware's fight for the civil union law. Fennell heads the state Criminal Justice Council and formerly led the ACLU's Delaware chapter.

Read more here...

Happy New Year!!

2011-12-31T13:10:00.000-08:00

In English, and in all other parts of the world!! Thanks for making 2011 another great year.

James Taylor- Sweet Baby James

2011-12-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

Nowadays There Are Two Kinds of Publishing Advice to New Authors

2011-12-30T17:23:00.001-08:00

I'm keeping this one as short as I can.

I read a blog post where an unpubbed author stated he follows all the advice about querying agents, never insults them or misspells their names, and does absolutely everything he possibly can to get his query right. And yet he never receives requests for partials or full manuscripts.

I would imagine he's not alone. I would also imagine there are thousands and thousands of other unpubbed authors who feel the same way he does.

I also know that novels like THE HELP were rejected dozens and dozens of times by literary agents. I even know an agent who rejected it.

I also know that a several novels that were rejected by every literary agent and publisher in the US went on to become huge hits on Amazon Kindle.

And, I also know that publishing is subjective and when you're querying a literary agent you're also querying the agent's personal taste in writing style, storyline, and what he or she thinks can be sold to an editor who also has his or her own personal distinct taste in fiction.

But I also know this, a well kept little secret with some. I've read where some literary agents believe nothing has ever come from unsolicited queries...for them personally. They've either nurtured their authors with big books or they've actively gone after them. I'm not saying this is the case across the board...far from it. But it does leave room for thought about the subjectivity of the query process.

The advice given to the guy who was seeking advice from this publishing professional was that he should seek out writers conferences and try to learn more about querying.

I'm not saying this is the wrong advice. Who knows? Maybe spending a small fortune, when gasoline prices are going to hit the four dollar mark this spring, is worth his time. Maybe he will, indeed, at least get a request for a full manuscript from an agent if he does go to a conference. I'm sure he has a slim chance.

But my advice to him would be to check out what's going on in e-publishing right now and start taking control of his own career. If you're an author, there hasn't been a better time in the history of publishing than right now. I would tell him that he's not the first author to experience tons of rejections from literary agents and he's not going to be the last.

Then I would ask him how many other great manuscripts like THE HELP are being turned down on a daily basis because they don't resonate with literary agents...or editors. The cycle has been going around for many decades. I would imagine there are plenty, and I would hate to think about how many great books like THE HELP I missed because my reading list has been so dependent on the taste of a select few...people who I wouldn't let decorate my bathroom let alone pick my reading list.

I'm not knocking agents and editors. I don't want it to sound that way. I'm sure the advice given was what the publishing professional believes is accurate. We need them all, especially literary agents. And we'll need them more in the future. I'm just pointing out that there are two viable sets of advice nowadays for authors, not just the advice that's been handed out for the past fifty years or so. And before an author spends their hard earned money schlepping to a writers conference, he or she might want to take advantage of other opportunities that seem to be working out quite well for more than a few authors.

In this case, I speak from personal experience. It isn't hearsay. I can tell you right now I have no regrets about getting into digital publishing eight years ago when everyone else was still laughing at it. As an author, I never would have had the chances I've had in "traditional" publishing. I would still be sending out queries and wondering if I should schlep to a writing conference. And I truly believe there isn't a conference or workshop on queries designed that would change anything for me.

Church Related Incident Considered Gay Hate Crime

2011-12-30T16:47:00.000-08:00

Though I've never been very religious, I do respect the rights of those who choose to worship, absolutely and completely. Evidently not everyone else does. As you can see from the article below, a Methodist church was vandalized because it depicted silhouettes of gay couples holding hands.

CLAREMONT, Calif. -- Vandalism of a church's Nativity display that includes depictions of gay and lesbian couples was being investigated as a hate crime, police said.

The damage at Claremont United Methodist Church occurred late Saturday or Sunday morning.

Read More Here...

Update: Fred Karger for President

2011-12-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

For those who have been following my quasi political posts, here's an update about Fred Karger, a gay Republican running for President. That's right: he's gay and Republican. Most of you probably don't know there are a lot of "them" out there. You're certainly not reading about it or hearing about it from the mainstream media...which I will talk about in another post.

I refer to my political posts as quasi because I vote independently and never follow any party lines. I'm not a political zealot. I like bipartisan candidates and people who can bring America together, not divide it. This is partly why I find Fred Karger extremely interesting in many ways. It's not just because he's the first openly gay Presidential candidate I've seen in my lifetime. If you read more about him you'll see what I mean. It's very interesting.

Here's one of the regular e-mails I receive from his campaign:

This has been an exciting year.  

Twenty-two months ago, Fred Karger began running for President of the United States. Since then, Fred has traveled from state-to-state laying out his independent vision and demonstrating that he is uniquely qualified to turn this country around.  

And thanks to supporters like you, we’re ready to take on Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann in 2012.  

But before we can turn our attention to 2012, we need to finish 2011 the right way.  

We are 48 hours away from a crucial fundraising deadline. It's important that we end this year strong and head into the New Year with the funds necessary to continue to compete in the upcoming primaries and caucuses.

And here is a link to his web site, where you can read more about him or donate a small amount of money if you are so inclined.

Talk About Switching Gears: The Little Baron's Christmas Angel

2011-12-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

I know it might appear peculiar to see a book like THE LITTLE BARON'S CHRISTMAS ANGEL above a post promoting a book about foot fetish, but this is a good example of how I like to switch gears without warning.

The author of this book was an editorial client of mine, and I've read and edited this story many times, as well as many of his other books. He's not a client of mine anymore, though. When he wanted to get into Amazon publishing I told him I didn't know enough about it to do him justice and he found someone who did. So I don't know how the book has been changed since I last edited it. But I do know this author worked for years on this one and I have no problem recommending it anyone. It's a great read, for kids and adults. And the price is certainly very good, at least compared to what's going on with the big six. Besides, up until recently you wouldn't have had a chance to read a story like this because it would have been considered too short to publish by literary agents and all large publishers. In the digital age of publishing, it works very well.

You can check it out here, and download it to your e-reading device. And, for those who still don't have e-reading devices, you can download it to your computers and read it right on your PC. You don't need an e-reader to read e-books. All you need is a computer.

The Little Baron sat silently in the seat of the large leaded, glass window and peered out upon the grounds of the old manor house. He watched the snowflakes gently blanket white the garden below including the tall distant evergreens. This was his most favorite room in the house, it was the library. Although in the evenings it was often occupied by his grandfather the Baron, in the afternoons it was his own private land of enchantment. There were books with pictures of faraway places and stories of adventure, which almost seemed impossible to really exist. It was the day before Christmas and the air was filled not only with great aromas coming from the kitchen and pantry, but also with the anticipation which comes only at this time of year.

The manor had been totally decorated earlier in the day by the loyal household staff. This had been an occasion which the late Baroness always enjoyed, unfortunately the Little Baron never knew his grandmother because she had passed on a few months before he was born. Garlands gracefully hung from the railings of the balcony above and poinsettias were placed upon around table in the entrance hall to act as festive, silent greeters. A tall Christmas tree had been chosen from the Baron’s forest with utmost precision, for it was the focal point in the drawing room since it was to stand guard over the gifts later that evening.

High Concept: Four Feet Under...

2011-12-30T07:08:00.000-08:00

As I posted earlier this week, I remember watching an episode of Sex in the City that handled the subject of foot fetish and it stuck with me for a long time. I wanted to write something about it but nothing ever came to me so I kept putting it off.

Those who know my fiction, know that I don't always remain in the same venue all the time. Because I sometimes switch gears, so to speak, I feel obligated to let readers know what I'm doing in more detail so they don't think they are buying one thing and getting another.

Sometimes I do write books I think are far more romance oriented than others I've written. TAKE ME ALWAYS is a good example of this. As you can see from this review/comment on allromanceebooks, a reader thought so, too.

OH MY GOD!!! I CRIED MY EYES OUT!. This was a very touching love story with alot of steamy sex. Make sure you have plenty of time to read the entire book in one sitting and a box of kleenex by your side. It was a very close adaptation of The Notebook except the character that was writing the story used a computer. Maybe we should call the book "The Laptop" (tee-hee). Seriously though, it is a great read.

There are times I like to have fun and take a Debbie Macomber trope and add a lot more spice and heat to it. I love Debbie's books; don't get me wrong. But just because there's a basket of puppies in a book doesn't mean there can't be good sex, too. And there are just as many readers out there who want to read the sex scenes as there aren't. There's room for everyone.

In some cases, I'm often amazed at the double standards sometimes. I read about a popular book reviewer editing an erotic BDSM anthology and then I see on her blog she uses the word "heck" instead of "hell." I know this is small, maybe even petty. But if you're bold enough to edit BDSM, which is territory where even I've never gone in fiction (seriously,) give me a break with the "heck" bullshit. You're clearly no saint; you're allowed to use the word "hell" (smile).

I'm explaining FOUR FEET UNDER WITH MY BUDDIES because it's not the most romance oriented book I've ever written. It's more new adult, high concept erotica if anything. I'm certain fictionwise will classify this in "fetish." There is a happy ending, character development, a storyline that would stand alone without the sex, and there could be room for a possible relationship in the future with the characters. But you're not going to find a basket of puppies in this one.

The gist of the story is focused on one thing: foot fetish. And I tried to keep it lighter, without laughing at it like they did in Sex in the City. It's one of those awkward topics late night comedians love to joke around about. I can just hear Chelsea Handler now. But the truth is there are obviously a lot of people, gay and straight, out there with foot fetishes and it's one of those taboo topics no one will ever admit to aloud. And, we tend to laugh at things that hit too close to home and make us a little too nervous.

Here's the blurb, and if anyone has any questions, please e-mail me.

Young Max is living at home and going to community college to save money. But his social life is nonexistent; he hasn’t been with a man in months. Then one Friday night he decides to go to the school gym and work out because there’s usually no one else around. That’s when he finds two of the hottest guys on campus shooting hoops in the empty gym. He pretends to be disinterested and they eventually follow him into the locker room. When he finds out they are a gay couple looking for a third, he’s stunned. And when they tell him what they want him to do to their feet, he can’t wait for them to take off their shoes.

Thank You Amazon...

2011-12-29T16:40:00.000-08:00

I just saw a blog post thanking a brick and mortar bookshop, which was clearly meant to promote the bookshop, on a publishing blog. It's a sneaky little thing I've seen alleged publishing professionals do, letting readers know in a subtle way they don't like or care for digital publishing. Trust me, you never see them promote Amazon, Kobo, or any other form of digital publishing.

So I decided to say my own small thank you to Amazon. They don't need my help with promotion, but I'm doing it anyway. Last I checked, a good deal of my own sales come from Amazon, so I'm more than qualified to thank them.

I posted earlier about a friend who is re-releasing his novel, which is LGBT fiction set in the year 1961. The title is "Camping in the Backyard Going Forward." The author is Anthony Zatti. And he's doing this on Amazon, as a trial promotion with free books.

He's doing this as a free Kindle download on Amazon for a limited time, and from what I'm hearing the free downloads have been flying off the cyber shelf. Like I said, it's free, so check it out. And, when the promo is over, the digital price is only $2.79.

No author would ever have been able to do this at a brick and mortar bookshop. And I find it amazing and spectacular to see that authors are now capable of doing this on Amazon. But more than that, it's also amazing that readers now have options to read for entertainment they never had in the past. And that we don't have to depend on the questionable taste of a handful of people what goes on our reading lists.

Lori Perkins Talks About E-publishing

2011-12-29T08:34:00.000-08:00

I've been following Lori's blog for at least six years now...might be longer. We've worked together in a strictly author/editor/publisher relationship many times, and she's been responsible for having the final say with a few of my titles at Ravenous Romance. She also helped brainstorm the concept of the Virgin Billionaire series when I wasn't even sure I wanted to write the first book in the series. I've posted about how that book freaked me out many times.

And now, Lori just wrote a great post about e-publishing you should check out. This isn't someone just blowing smoke up your butts either. There's a lot of that going around these days. This post is based on personal experience and facts that I know Lori has learned first hand through a great deal of hard work, not to mention hard knocks.

You can get there from here.

Here's an excerpt:

Ebooks now outsell mass market titles, practically putting paperbacks out of commission. Borders went out of business completely. But more and more people are reading, and that includes a whole new generation of readers who now consider reading entertainment again.

Who is Your Agent?

2011-12-29T07:11:00.000-08:00

When you're a writer, whether you've been published or not...it makes no difference...and you don't have a literary agent representing you, you are your own agent. You are representing yourself, on your own behalf, always looking out for your own best interests. This is important to understand, especially with so many changes happening in publishing.

This is the wiki definition of a literary agent, here. It's easier to just link than explain, because that's not the reason for this post.

For a few brief months in my 20 year writing career, I had a literary agent. It didn't work out. We parted amicably when I wound up sending her checks at the end of each quarter. I was basically shopping and selling my own work faster than she could get out an e-mail reply. My books were being released faster than she (bless her dear little slow beating heart) could tweet them. And other than that experience, I've always acted as my own agent. I've made mistakes along the way. I've also been lucky enough to have good friends in publishing who can, and have, advised me when I didn't understand something. But for the most part, I've been winging it on my own. And I've learned how to think before I act in every single situation I encounter.

The reason I'm writing this post isn't about me. It's not about literary agents either. I'm writing it because I've heard more than one author in the past six months make statements I'm not sure they understand. Several have said they are releasing their books through Amazon as Kindle e-books. Almost all of them used wording like, "Amazon is acting as my agent."

I'm all for what Amazon is doing for authors. Amazon is empowering them and giving them chances the so-called "gatekeepers" would never have done. And almost every author I know is now taking advantage of this opportunity, as they should. But Amazon is not acting as an author agent. Amazon is looking out for their own best interests, and that's what the author should be doing, too.

There are many books and web sites out there that discuss self-publishing or Indie Publishing, whichever you prefer. There are also books and web sites that help unagented authors. I've learned a lot just by reading literary agent blogs in the past ten years. But it's important to understand that if you don't have a professional literary agent looking out for you, you'd better be looking out for yourself. And you'd better start learning how to do that. It's just as important with Indie Publishing, digital release first publishing, and e-publishing in general as it's always been with "traditional" publishing.

Where Writers Go When They Pass On

2011-12-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

Worth sharing.

A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell.

She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes.

"Oh my," said the writer. "Let me see heaven now."

A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes.

"Wait a minute," said the writer. "This is just as bad as hell!"

"Oh no, it's not," replied an unseen voice. "Here, your work gets published."

He's Not a Big Fan of Breastfeeding in Public: Kasey Kahne, NASCAR Driver

2011-12-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I run across something I feel the need to share. It's also nice to know that not everything in my world is controversial and related to the LGBT community at large.

I honestly don't know who Kasey Kahne is, but the guy probably doesn't come from a large extended family. Trust me on this.

I come from a long line of therapists and chiropractors. I've seen my mother breastfeed, my sister breastfeed, and even my nieces...one, I am certain, might just do it on facebook any day now. I've been quietly making bets with other family members.

So it doesn't bother me when I'm out in public and I see a woman breastfeeding. I got used to it a long time ago. Have at it...especially if it keeps the little darling child from screaming and ruining the rest of my day.

Obviously, that wasn't the case with Kasey Kahne while he was walking around a supermarket and saw a woman breastfeeding. He tweeted this:

Just walking through supermarket. See a mom breast feeding little kid. Took second look because I was obviously seeing things. I wasn't!

And then followed with this:

I don't feel like shopping anymore or eating

I don't know what to say to that. Clearly, this freaked him out. You can read more about it here if you are so inclined.

Free Kindle Book on Amazon: "Camping in the Backyard Going Forward" by Anthony Zatti

2011-12-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

I'm not exactly sure how this works. But a friend of mine is having a book released for free through Amazon and I wanted to give him a shout. The title is Camping in the Backyard Going Forward, and the author is Anthony Zatti.

Here's his post on facebook, verbatim:

It's now less than five hours until you can get a copy of my book, Camping in the Backyard Going Forward, from Amazon/Kindle for FREE. That's right for FREE. You can get it for your Kindle or to read on your computer for FREE right after nidnight tonight. You only have a limited time to take advantagre of this promo offer by Amazon/Kindle Books/Anthony Anthony Zatti.

And here's the Amazon link.

I don't think I can get this one for free. I don't own a Kindle and I'm not a Premium Kindle Member. I own Kobo and NextBook. But for those who own Kindles, I would imagine it's worth your time to check out a free e-book and see if it's for you. I do this all the time on Kobo and I'm usually happy with what I receive. I'm also planning to buy the book anyway as soon as I'm finished reading Merv Griffin's new bio (Oy...what a tale of deceit).

A. B. Gayle's Review of GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

2011-12-28T07:04:00.000-08:00

This is one of those times I'm thrilled with a review, and it's all because the reviewer "got" what I was trying to do and I never had to explain myself once. For a writer, this is the ultimate experience. I honestly don't care about how many stars I get or what kind of ratings readers leave. I've been around too long not to know and understand how subjective the reading experience can be and how people will react in many different ways. If you don't believe me, just go over to goodreads and check out a few of the reviews left for The Great Gatsby.

But when a reviewer actually sees what an author was trying to do, without doing anything other than reading the book, it's a wonderful feeling to know that you at least touched one person. And I never did get into any long explanations about what motivated me to write GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE the way I did because I was on the fence about the title and how closely related the title was to the classic Pride and Prejudice. As you can see in the review below, the book isn't much like the original classic. I figured I just keep my big mouth shut and see if readers knew what I intended with this book.

Here's a link to the review. And below is the actual review copied and pasted verbatim. There are no spoilers, but I should warn that there are a few words and phrases with adult content and this is an PG rated blog, so if this sort of thing offends you, please feel free not to read it.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So far, of all the remakes I enjoyed this one the most. Mainly, because Ryan does such a good job of translating the pride and prejudices to the gay community.

Don't expect a scene by scene remake. This takes the aspects that are at the core of Jane Austen's book: the cutting observations about people and society and what people of that ilk are proud and prejudiced about but putting them into a modern gay context. So, we're not getting dry 1800 social observations of character but 2010 characterisations from a gay POV. They're none the less apt.

This means that the characters will be different. Tristan is no Eliza Bennett, but he shares some of her qualities, her honesty and her embarrassment at the behavior of her relatives, and most of all in being opinionated. Likewise Miller is no Mr Darcy, but he also is bound by the strictures of his parents and background.

In this case the prejudices and pride are linked up with new vs old money, gays vs straights, old queens vs new age gay.
I want you to stick with our own kind, and I don't want you screwing around with all these straights.

There's also the more normal kind of pride:
Ellen's face gleamed with pride; she gazed at her big strong straight son with love and affection.

I love that the alternate love interest is a stud ex-serviceman just back from Iraq.

The parallel works really well in this case, as the whole topic of marriage is at the core of the original. Who should marry who and why and again in this case, all Tristan wants to do is get married.

“As I got older and legalized same-sex marriage became an issue within the lgbt community, I started to realize I deserved to fall in love and get married just as much as heterosexual couples deserved it. I made a decision a long time ago I wouldn't settle for less. Call it pride, call it being stubborn. But I won't settle for less.”

In this case "Mr Darcy" is still not exactly pro marriage. He just wants to fuck.

There are some priceless bits eg when one main character comes up with this:
“Do you want to suck my xxxx?” Miller asked. He adjusted his position and spread his legs wider.
Tristan smiled. He had a feeling Miller was trying to shock him on purpose. “That's not very romantic,” Tristan said.
“You haven't sucked my xxxx yet, so you don't really know that for sure. It might be the most romantic thing that's ever happened to you.”

And later, the other MC says this:
Though Tristan would have laughed at clichéd expressions like dripping xxxx or weeping xxxx in public, and he would have frowned if anyone had used these awful, trite, clichés in ordinary conversation, when he had one right in front of him it was a different story.
you have to smile!

Ryan has the equivalent faux pas down pat. The comments about the price of things, never done by someone who really is "old money". And I loved this bit:
And Clint had been giving him fashion tips. Eldridge hadn't worn a bow tie, a crew neck sweater draped over his shoulders, or a pair of pink plaid slacks in weeks.

But Ryan doesn't neglect sharing real facts to educate people about factors affecting the LGBT community. In this case:
“There are many older gay couples who have been together for years. Just like straight married couples, they own property together. When one of them passes away, the surviving partner is forced to pay inheritance taxes on their own property. It runs into thousands and it wipes them out.”

He also doesn't pull his punches on a couple of occasions about hypocrisy.

Ryan Field's "Covers of Classics" can be a bit hit or miss, but to me, "Gay Pride and Prejudice", does exactly what he has set out to do.

It's time.

2011-12-27T18:24:00.000-08:00

I just saw this video again over at www.2boysinlove.blogspot.com and I wanted to repost it on my own blog, too.

The reason I'm doing this is because this video is what my own life has been like. I know people will think it's not reality. But it is my reality, from the hospital scenes to the amusement park scenes.

And I like to see it being passed around.

Matthew Darringer: "Be It Ever So Humble" Post

2011-12-27T16:21:00.000-08:00

I've linked to Matthew's blog before and I'm doing it again. There's a quality over there that seems to incorporate psychology and literature in an interesting way. I'm very interested in reading Matthew's fiction...he's promised he'll let me when the time is right.

There's a lot of reality, too, especially the descriptions. I swiped the photo above directly from Matthew's blog.

I've also been quietly following the blog of a middle aged gay man who recently moved to a trailer park in Maryland, in some unheard of town I'm assuming is near DC. I'm not quite sure what the tone of this blog is, at least not yet. Some of it is all about the joys of living in a single wide, other parts seem to be about being single, gay, neurotic, and eating out alone.

This blog is interesting, too, in the sense that the middle aged gay blogger seems perfectly content, to the point of being overjoyed, in the single wide.

And the point I'm trying to make...I promise I'll get there...is that here are two very good, nicely written blogs, with two different POV's, taken from two very different perspectives. The psychology is there, in both. And they both offer a degree of reality on the Internet we don't see all that often.

Check them out and see what I'm talking about, especially if you're looking for different blogs to read that are authentic. They are out there, you just have to look. And neither of these blogs appear to be selling anything or exploiting anything. It's personal blogging at its best.

Free E-books: Free Library of Philadelphia

2011-12-27T12:16:00.001-08:00

A friend pointed this link out to me earlier this week and I haven't had time to check it out yet.

But from what I gather, you can borrow e-books from the Free Library of Philadelphia no matter where you live.

I will be checking it out in more detail, probably later this week. I've always been a huge fan of public libraries and I think this is a great way for them to co-exist in the digital age of publishing.