I’m having out-of-town guests next week. My house is a mess, so is my refrigerator and I haven’t gone food shopping in … a while. What does that have to do with this blog? Absolutely nothing. I just thought I’d share my joy with you all. :roll: Okay, but seriously…. On a more topical note, I’ve got eleven subjects down below. BTW, #11 is … um … unreal. As always, comment on what you like, ignore the rest.

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#1: THAT THIN LINE

On Romancing The Blog this past Tuesday, Sarah Tanner posed some interesting questions about authors, the internet and reader expectations:

“Does an author’s online persona influence your opinion of their work?”


Admittedly, there have been occasions where I’ve come across an author’s website or a column they’ve written that may have influenced my buying habits both pro and con. What about you? Say you’re a flaming liberal and your favorite author is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative. Not only that, but her blog is chock-full of her ultra right wing opinions? Or say you’re a pro-life moderate and your favorite author posts her strongly held pro-choice opinions ? Or say you’re an e-pubbed author who happened upon a post of a well published author who basically considers you not-so-published? Or what if the author is a rabid PETA supporter/Vegen who thinks meat eaters are murderers? Okay, these are a bit extreme, but you get my drift. In situations like the above, would you stop buying the author’s books, or are you able to separate fiction (their novels) from reality (their opinions)?

Sarah also asked:

“If you’re a published author, do you feel pressurized to reveal more of yourself than you would like?

Hey pubs, does talking about your personal life and opinions online make you uncomfortable? Do you fear alienating your readers?

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#2: The W/W LOVE THINGIE

Last week an EC editor asked about women’s fascination with M/M erotica/romantica. This week, she’s wondering why W/W is not as popular with female readers:

“….based on sales figures at romance and erotic romance publishers (I don’t know about sales at GLBT specialty publishers), those same mainstream women don’t buy many f/f romance books. Or even menages of two women and one man, rather than the incredibly popular two-men-one-woman.

A couple of theories are kicked around. Women love the fantasy of being pleasured by two men, but don’t see the fun in having to share a man with another woman. Or women don’t want the “competition”, the comparison to another woman. Most of us already have insecurities about our bodies, our appearance–would we really want a sexual situation where we are compared to another woman, even if she’s a lover or friend? Or, worse, by the man in a trio?”

Hmmmm. :boob: Anybody want to take a stab at this? :popcorn:

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#3: SEX, DRUGS AND CONDOMS

Would you have an issue with a heroine who takes a Morning After pill after having sex with the hero? Could you accept a heroine who has an abortion DURING the story (not backstory). She wasn’t raped, in fact, the baby belongs to our valiant hero and he wanted the child. :shock: What say you?

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#4: ROMANCE NOVEL SUICIDE

On a similar note, I ran across this interesting post at Love Romance Passion.

10 Ways To Commit Romance Novel Suicide

1. Have your heroine or hero willingly/actually cheat on the other.
2. You ignored the “declaration” scene or scenes.
3. Your characters aren’t likeable or boring or both.
4. You created a ridiculous amount of angst for nothing more than your own amusement.
5. Your writing is passive or the style strange.
6. You gave your heroine a demonic pregnancy that winds up killing her.
7. You failed to follow through.
8. You flirted with romance taboos and missed the mark.

The demonic pregnancy reference reminds me of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books and David Boreanaz’s Angel TV series. The latter storyline was a HUGE (AND I MEAN HUGE) disappointment for me. Yes, I’m a Jasmine and Connor hater. I almost stopped watching. Regarding cheating heroes and heroines … hmmm… that depends. Really it does. On the motivation I mean. As for the other stuff, what do you think?

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#5: EDITING SALE

blogAnother editor is selling his talent as a freelancer. Check it out HERE. What do you think of freelance editors? Would you ever use one?

“You read that right, I need stimulus money. As of June 30th, I became unemployed because the contract I had with a software consulting firm expired and they simply didn’t have any projects to place me on, so to the soup kitchen lines I went! …. Short story and novel critiques–Receive an extensive critique of your short story or novel. This includes red ink on the manuscript and a one page critical analysis of your story or novel. I’ll do light line edits and proofreading, but this is more of an ‘improve your work’ critique than a grammatical edit. My going price will be $2.00 per page (page=250 words), but for the first few who are willing to hire me for my first go-around as a freelancer, I’m offering a one-time only special price of $1.00 per page. I am also available for book layout & design.”

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#6: QUERY REJECTION COLLECTION

An agent gives nine reasons as to why she stops reading a query. Direct quotes from her are italicized. My embellishments are not:

1. “Every single agent on earth is included in the “to” section of the email.”
2. You query every agent in her agency
3. “A query letter is beneath you and instead you send a rambling email about” how you worked your arse off to write the next great American literary masterpiece, of which you’re attaching. With a thirty-page synopsis of course.
4. Any unsolicited attachments including a query letter as an attachment! (Are people really this stupid?)
5. “Disparaging all other books published or yourself or your book.”
6. Sending a query through a query service is the kiss of death.
7. “The query is addressed to my dog.”
8. “Your book or proposal is incomplete or you are pitching nothing but an idea.”
9. Bad wryting and spellering and imporoper senntince strucktear.

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#7: MORE ON THE “LIAR” DEBACLE

A Galley Cat Reader had this to say about the LIAR book cover scandal:

This issue is broader than just this – and the inset says it all. Bloomsbury is a very “homogenous” publisher and they’ve been very overt in pushing books with white protagonists. One need only stop by the ALA booth in Chicago to see how little diversity they have and how they pretty much ignored African Americans stopping by the booth. I tried to engage one of the reps about what was on the list (any book) and was ignored. Then asked about another white author with an African American protagonist and got a shrug.

The broader issue is that publishers have created much of the problem they claim restricts them. They seem only interested in publishing non stereotypical stories about people of color if someone white writes the book. And a quick scan of Bloomsbury’s editorial staff in the children’s division reveals nothing surprising – African Americans aren’t on the editorial staff.

Bloomsbury needs to understand just how insulting this current situation is for many constituents. Perhaps the cover was supposed to create a “buzz.” It did. But it also created a racially insulting situation if, indeed, the main character is an ethnic minority. By implying only white covers sell, then just do that – put on a blank white cover with the word LIAR on it. But wait – that did happen in Australia. Perhaps that publisher is more intelligent that those here in the US. The book will make a lot of money – sales and marketing will play off the controversy. Jokes on the rest of us, I guess. Once again, Bloomsbury says “Blacks need not apply or submit.”

You know what? Mark my words. We’ll talk about this a while longer, then it will be forgotten. The publisher will go on and we’ll just segue over to the next subject. Nothing will come of this. And that’s what really sucks about this whole situation.

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#8: DONATIONS WANTED

An author offers to let you read her book online for a nominal donation. Will it fly? I guess it depends on how good the book is. Would you ever consider doing this? Check it out HERE.

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#9: BAD NEWS

On another totally depressing NOTE.

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#10: GOOD NEWS

An agent at the L. Perkins Agency is looking for YA. Here’s a snippet:

“I love YA books. I loved them when I was a kid and I still love them now. I want to see manuscripts from people who love it as much as I do. I want to find the books that kids are going to remember with fondness. I inhaled Lois Duncan, LJ Smith, Babysitter’s Club, Sweet Valley, etc, etc. These days I’m excited by the writing done by Suzanne Collins, Kristin Cashore, Claudia Gray. I’m also into the teen novels by people like Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, Barry Lyga and others. I’m looking for smart middle grade and teen novels. (No picture books, please.) I like fantasy and paranormal, and other odd things. Zombies are pretty big at the moment, and I’d also like to see witches, psychics, time travel and superheroes. As far as non-genre, I like strong, female heroines and books with fresh voices and a quirky sense of humor. I’m really sick of knock-off “Harry Potters’ and “Twilights.”

Send queries to EK at EKlperkinsagency@yahoo.com.

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#11: DISGUSTINGLY WEIRD NEWS

:wtf: :no: :oops: :shock: :tmi:

Now on a completely non-romance note, a South Carolina man was recently arrested for having sex with …. (click HERE if you really wanna know).