Goodbye To Crappy Blogger And Good Riddance!

OK, so I've moved. My new blog home can be found at http://www.karenknowsbest.com/, so for those who want to, update your links, your Google Readers, and any other feeds.

"When The Most Successful Author In Romance Judges Others"

Dudes, stop posting on here, the blog has MOVED!

Awwww....they make it so damn easy for me to be.... well...me...

Anyway, since author, Deborah Smith (I believe she wrote the award winning book, Crossroads Cafe) has much to say for herself, I thought I'd give her comments the exposure they deserve, cuz you know, I'm nice like that.

Thanks to the Anon commenter who posted this link of a cached Amazon post that she wrote, presumably, at the height of the CE Love Fest.

This is what she had to say:


"Hi, y'all. I debated whether to post publicly {K: Ooops, too late, and Google forgets nothing unfortunately} about this tempest in a teapot in the romance world, because the last thing I want is to be eviscerated by Nora Roberts' avid fangirls. But there's a quiet little stream of conversation in the world of romance writers as to why Roberts, unquestionably the richest, most award-winning, most successful romance novelist in the world -- in fact, one of the most successful novelists in the world, period -- hangs out at a blog site called "Smart Bitches," where the topics include open attacks on authors so far down the food chain that one wonders how Nora has time in her busy career to even notice they exist.



Now Roberts has weighed in (via an interview with the national press) on a controversy surrounding old-school historical author Cassie Edwards. I don't know Cassie Edwards; I've never read one of her many (nearly 100) historicals. But so far as I can tell she's a hardworking, 71-year-old author who's never slammed any other author in public. To the best of my knowledge Ms. Edwards is considered a rollicking good storyteller who likes to write westerns and pirate novels. She does not appear to have any pretensions, and her fans clearly love her books.

But -- according to reports launched by the Smart Bitches bloggers, who admitted beforehand that they don't like Ms. Edwards' old-style books, and have spent considerable time making jokes about them -- the author "plagiarized" bits and pieces of research material. The horrendous offense? Some passages about (I'm not kidding) buffaloes and ferrets. Looking at the passages myself, all I see is a writer who maybe should have paraphrased some research info a little better. I don't see malicious or greedy intent; I don't see "plagiarism" in any serious legal interpretation of the charge. If there's more to the issue than that, I haven't seen the evidence.

But I kinda doubt that Ms. Edwards' success is built on her nature writing. I kinda doubt she sat at her computer thinking, "If I use this other author's description of a buffalo, I'll sell ten times more books."

But now this grandmother (and accomplished violinist) is fielding national wire service inquiries about her alleged misdeeds. And Nora Roberts -- unsolicited, unharmed, with no personal beef with Ms. Edwards in any way, as far as I know -- has stood up atop her unassailable pile of money and awards to say -- in the national media --that Ms. Edwards appears to have committed plagerism.

Why does Roberts feel compelled to play lawyer, judge and jury regarding a fellow author? Roberts has achieved a level of good fortune 99.9 percent of authors can only dream about. But does that make her not only the spokeswoman for the romance genre, but also its enforcer of public condemnation for unproven offenses?

Not for me, and not for thousands of other hardworking authors trying to earn a living down here in the trenches, that's for sure."

And on that bombshell, I'm off to the pictures with TTG. I may even buy a violin with my popcorn whilst I'm out. :)

Updated to add: Here at Karen Scott Central, (thanks to AztecLady) we've realised that Ms Smith's motives may not have been so pure after all. She was the lady who 'jokingly' accused Mancusi and Maverick of encouraging pedophilia by wearing their school girl outfits, at the height of the RWA Swanhat-gate Lovefest last year. She originally posted on the SBs blog, but here's her comments at DA.

Now we know why she's hating on Nora and the SBs so much; she's getting them back for making her look stupid and clueless. *g*

Reader Bloggers Vs Online Authors - Just A Myth? Or Is It For Real?

You know what really chaps my arse?

People (Read: some authors) who are so twisted up with bitterness, that they simply refuse to see beyond the end of their own noses. These people (read: some authors) point blank refuse to acknowledge that sometimes, their (mostly perceived) 'enemies' are right.

They consistently take the opposing view, just because, they can't bear the thought of conceding that sometimes these people, who they hate beyond measure, might actually be talking sense. It's a strange phenomenon, and one that I've only ever experienced, with very young children, until recently. (You know, the game that you play, where you say the sky is blue, and the child says it's black?) I've seen more examples of this, over the past couple of weeks, than ever before.

Every author, who's ever tangled with a Mean Reader Blogger, predictably came out with their own twisted version of events, with regards to the plagiarism lovefest. They 'gleefully' bashed the SBs and DA, whilst lamenting how terrible it was that those bitches (paraphrasing of course) had put a 71 year old through all this stress, and brought shame to the genre, (and God, can't they shut up already?) yada yada yada. My head still hurts from all the sneaky sideswipes.

I wasn't surprised by any of it, as it happens. Unfortunately, I do tend to have low expectations of romance authors in general (I love the exceptions obviously), so this was just par for the course, as far as I was concerned.

It was a shame though, especially for the absolute lovers of the genre. And whilst I admit that bloggers like myself may have played a part or two, in fostering those very negative feelings that some authors have towards Reader Bloggers, (no apologies for that I'm afraid) it seems to me that some of them (authors) seem to forget about the majority of the bloggers who simply adore the genre, and want to promote it, every chance they get.

Readers like KristieJ for instance. There are more KristieJs out there, than Karen Scotts. You guys know that, right?

And also, let me say here and now, that in my opinion (and of course I'm rarely wrong) The SBs, and the gals at Dear Author have done more for the genre, than a lot of the authors who have partaken in the Reader Blogger-bashing and the faux hand-wringing that's been taking place in Romanceland of late.

These women do a really great job, (for those people who need things explaining to them, I'm talking about the SBs and DA) in the Blogosphere, and without their presence, I think Romanceland would be a much less interesting place to visit.

By the way, if you're wondering if I'm talking about you, I probably am.

(And for every person who suggested that this whole issue has just been about blog hits, you guys really need to think about that some more.)

Fool Me Once, Shame On You, Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me...

Didn't the owners of Venus Press shaft their authors by just upping sticks, closing down the site, and running away last April?

Well, seemingly, they are open again, and by the looks of it, they have some of their old authors too.

Now, what kind of business shuts down without saying a word to anyone, then opens again, like nothing ever happened?

Also, do all the authors know that they're apparently in business again?

And more to the point, why would these authors trust the owners to look after their interests this time round? What are they? Stupid? Don't they remember the flurry of people jumping ship, just before they shut down, and the bad smell that always seemed to follow Venus Press everywhere??

There isn't even an explanation, as far as I can see, as to where they've been, why they shut down, and what they've been up to, since closing.

My advice to authors? Keep the hell away.

It'll end in tears again. Mark my words.

Updated to add:
Apparently some of the books at VP are already being sold by other publishers. What are the implications for the authors, if this is true?

Also, apparently, the purchasing function isn't working, so I wonder why they've relaunched the website? Curiouser and curiouser...

Thanks to you-know-who-you-are for the tip-off.

Ahhhh At Last, An E-Book Publisher After My Own Heart...

"Manuscripts containing infidelity, abuse, addiction or other vile, disgusting behavior on the part of the two main characters will be rejected."

I laughed my tits off when I read this at Black Lyon Publishing (No, I've never heard of them either) because, in their other genre guidelines, you'll see that they use the word 'offensive' instead of 'vile'.

I think they'd originally written the above, then decided that possibly it sounded a little harsh and judgmental, so substituted the words. They just forgot to change the wording within their contemporary guideline.

I much prefer the way they've worded it here, it really drives home the point, dontcha think? *g*

Effing hilarious.

I wonder how long it'll take them before they catch their moderately un-PC language? Hehe...


Thanks to you-know-who-you-are for the link.

This Is Why Some Books Should Not Be Read Out Loud...

Over 18s only!


I've read this Lora Leigh book, and I quite liked it, if I recall correctly, but hearing it read out loud (by a bunch of students no less), is just....wrong. *g* How uncomfortable do you feel just listening to it? Hehe...

On the bright side though, look how many extra books she'll sell!!

Does This Sound Right To You?

"Her son's pregnancy had been a high risk one for her, and had nearly killed her."

Is it just me, or is that sentence just...silly?

Did you perchance (like me) wonder what her son was doing getting pregnant? *g*

This by the way, was from a freebie book being offered by Phaze.


I'm currently trying to work out how many times I can mention Phaze on my blog before I'm accused of launching a witch hunt. *g*

How Very Sad...

What would you do if you met the man of your dreams, and married him, only to find that he was.......your twin brother, and that you had been separated at birth?

That's exactly what happened to a British couple.

"A pair of twins who were adopted by separate families as babies got married without knowing they were brother and sister, a peer told the House of Lords.
A court annulled the British couple's union after they discovered their true relationship, Lord Alton said.

The peer - who heard of the case from a judge who was involved - said the twins felt an "inevitable attraction".

He said the case showed how important it was for children to be able to find out about their biological parents."

How terribly tragic.

Yes It's All About Me, Me, Me...

I was over at Book Binge reading a post by Holly, about the whole Cassie Edwards plagiarism thing, when I came across a familiar looking comment:

"There is more going on here than CE is wrong. What's happened here is disgusting but sadly, not surprising. Not too long ago I was attacked personally. It went past attacks on my professional life and turned into brutal attacks on my personal life and most importantly, my family. Yes. My family was dragged into it. There is no line anymore of what separates right and wrong.

Sadly, our community has become a free-for-all, where no one is safe from attack."

This was from Renee Rocco, AKA Rene Lyons AKA The Dishing Diva.

I came across a similar comment on Jenny Crusie's blog, but I more or less ignored it. Seemingly though, it's a message that she wants to get across to people so I thought I'd do her the favour of sticking it on here, so that she doesn't have to repeat it on every blog that she visits.

I know, I'm far too kind for my own good.

She continues:

"No, back to CE. SHE WAS WRONG. NO EXCUSE FOR WHAT SHE'S DONE. NONE. (had to put that in). Nevertheless, what should have been a reporting of the facts and kept to reasonable debates and discussions, sank so low that I too, am ashamed of what I've been reading out there. Blogs ripping her apart, tearing anyone to shreds who dares to questions THE TONE of the attacks.

This has become a virtual lynch-mob. With the AP involved now, brining more eyes on us all, it's shameful that this is what people are seeing when they look at us. It was bad enough that CE cast a shadow over us. What came after only made us look like a pack of rabid dogs.

I wonder when this community will settle back down and these brutal attacks, not just on CE, but on whichever reader/author is the new "target of the week"

I just about nearly cried when I read her heartfelt plea to the romance community to stop tearing each other apart. Her words really affected me in a profound way.

So I pledge to thee my loyal readers, that from now on, I shall do my part and refrain from mocking those who don't have the common sense that they must have surely been born with. I shall refrain from airing strong unpopular opinions, and I shall refrain from using the word 'fucktard', in relation to those people who seem to lose their minds on a daily basis in Romanceland. I shall also refrain from reminding people that the person in question set up a blog, pretending to be somebody else, just so that she could take potshots at other authors, for example, J.R. Ward.

This is my pledge to you, my loyal readers, and I will endeavour to live a life free of mockery and bitchiness, from here on in.

Updated to add: My pledge will be fulfilled when hell freezes over.

What Would You Do...

If you were talking to somebody who had a huge bogey (erm is that booger to you Americans?) dangling from their nose?

I was talking to a client yesterday who had a massive greeny hanging out of his nose... well strictly speaking, it wasn't hanging out of his nose, but as near as.

Anyway, throughout our meeting, I kinda talked to his nose. I couldn't help it. I really wanted to tell him, but how do you do that to somebody you only know on a business basis?

In the end, I didn't say anything to him. I just couldn't. The arduous task of trying to come up with a diplomatic way of mentioning it, was making my brain hurt.

What would you have done?

Man,Talk About Muddying The Waters...

Plagiarism = Bad. Period.

Plagiarism doesn't equal "Yeah, it was bad, but those girls were so mean." These are two fucking separate issues altogether.

Any author who writes yeah, plagiarism is bad, but those girls are mean bitches, run the risk of people assuming that they don't really think the issue is that big a deal. Unfair maybe, but that's how it comes across.

Writing a friggin' long essay on how mean, some bloggers and their readers are, whilst taking potshots at said blogger and their readers, is a tad hypocritical. (Passive aggressive tone, notwithstanding.) Some people prefer to call it righteous indignation, than what it actually is. Whatever works for them I guess.

Using the blog in question, as a forum to wring one's hands in consternation over the way one has been treated in the past, due to one's own actions may I add is... well...cringe-worthy lame.

By the way, most bloggers, or at least the ones who don't put their readers to sleep will always have their own lovable sycophants. When you write a blog about how fangirlish certain blog readers are, and then your own blog readers chime in with, 'Right on sister!' or 'Amen motherfucker!', you look silly. I'm sure I don't have to explain why. We've all done it I'm sure, but it still makes us look silly.

The next time anybody talks about trying to gain respect in this genre, I'll be sure to pipe in with my 'Not in this lifetime' mantra, and quote the RWA's initial response, when this issue was first reported to them.

Thank goodness for The SBs, Dear Author, and Nora Roberts I say.

Anyway, I'm turning off my comments because I don't really want to have a discussion on the subject. Plagiarism is wrong, period.

What's In A Name?

A cyber pal pointed out yesterday there are some ... erm... interesting names in E-Publand. Just check out some of them:

Rusty Wicks - This always conjures up rude images...
Rayne Forrest -
Skylar Grey - Skylar seems to be a popular name in E-Publand.
Honey Jans - Sounds like a euphemism for the vagina.
Stine Templar
Dahlia Rose- Flowery names really seem to be popular with e-authors.
Aurora Rose Lynn
Crymsyn R Hart
RaeLynn Blue
Raine Weaver
Red Garnier
Sable Grey
Feather Marosek
Roxi Romano
Skylar Sinclair
Rayvynne Sun
Laura Mazzuca Toops
Lizzie. T. Leaf
Fenner Jekyll
Petula Caesar
DaPharoah (Oh come on!)
Tysche Dwai - Dontcha just love it when authors pick easy names to spell?
Trixie Stilletto - This name always makes me want to giggle
Inna Spice - Wasn't there a film called Inner Space?
Robin Slick (Eve, didn't you write a story with some dude called 'Rick Slick'? Hehe)
Johnny Peregrine
Rayne 2. Marzett (Is that somebody's name or a typo?)
Brenna Lyons (hehe, I just put her name in this list cuz I felt like it)
Sabrina Luna - Hmmm...
Tuesday Morrigan
Eva Hore - *snicker*
Jade Twilight
Countess Celina
Chastity Lee
Cheryl Dragon
Candy Caine
Desiree Erotique - (Thanks Bam, I forgot Des for a minute there!)

Have you come across any other weird and wonderful names out there in E-Publand? Any from Printland?

Which Do You Prefer To Read?

I was blog-hopping earlier when a comment from Emily Veinglory caught my eye:

"implicitly not seeking m/m, or haven't thought about it much which is curious given that it tends to substantially outsell m/f."

The post is talking about yet another new publisher who think they're gonna set the world on fire, but to be honest, I'm not really interested in that portion of the post.

What I am interested in is whether or not male/male romances do indeed outsell books with female/male protagonists. Now I'm not talking about menages with both males and females because that doesn't really answer the question.

So I'm gonna put it out there, if you had the choice between two stories, roughly similar, but one featuring M/M leads, and the other featuring a male/female couple, which would you choose?

For those people who are shy about these things, just post anonymously. It's not like you guys don't know how to do that. *g*

Who Does She Remind You Of?

A couple of years ago, I came across a book cover which actually had a photo-shopped version of David Beckham on it. I think he was supposed to be the hero. I didn't buy it cuz it just seemed so wrong somehow. *g*

Phaze Authors Angry Over Allegations Of Writing For Literotica Porn Site (Even Though Some Of Them Actually Do)...

I really love you guys because you are my eyes and ears (Wait, wasn't that a column run by one of the twins in F. Pascal's Sweet Valley High?)

Anyway, I think I got to the bottom of the whole Mrs Giggles v Phaze thing. (Do these people ever learn?)

According to Alessia Brio's blog post, Mrs G put up a post called Poetry, that read a little something like this:

"There are people who enjoy reading poetry, but I am not one of them. The only poetry for grown-ups that I can appreciate are those by WB Yeats, but that's because he's kinda cute in the photo on the cover of the collection of his poems that I own. Even if the poem in question is supposed to be erotic, it goes right over my head. I guess I'm just not that kind of literate/artistic people. I only like rude poems found in kiddie books, but that's about it, I'm afraid.

But hey, don't let me stop you from enjoying things like Phaze In Verse. It's an EPPIE-nominated thing, after all. For the life of me, though, I can't imagine what kind of poetry one can write about a publishing house. Sonnets of appreciation for getting published? Sordid haikus about the orgies that went on in the recent company Christmas party?

By the way, is it just me or Phaze's publishing roster when it comes to erotic stuff comprise mostly folks from Literotica?"

Now I already read this entry a few days earlier, and you know me, I fancy I can smell an actual blog row from miles away, but I didn't even get so much as a nose twitch.

Anyway, apparently, some of the rabid Phaze authors started getting all defensive and calling Mrs G, The Devil's Spawn (erm.. paraphrasing obviously) for daring to suggest that they write porn for Literotica. or as Alessia Brio put it:

"A couple of Phaze authors posted clarifications"

Uh huh, I've seen e-authors and their clarifications before. *g*

From what I hear, it was a similar kind of total overreaction to that of some of the crazy people over at Changeling Press, after I posted what was supposed to be a public service announcement, albeit a little tongue-in-cheek.

It has been suggested that the reason that some of these authors reacted so badly is because some of them did indeed start life at Literotica, and perhaps don't want the likes of me going and finding posts where they tell all and sundry about what they're into. Apparently, some of the authors at Literotica are very graphic about their sex lives, and so the now respectable Phaze authors probably don't want their sexual proclivities being unearthed. Ooh er missus.

Anyhoo, this is what Alessia Brio wrote on her blog:

"Yeah, it's a little snarky... but, really, not too objectionable. (In truth, maybe 10% of Phaze's roster of 120+ authors has Literotica roots, if that. I take the blame credit for that, as I enthusiastically encouraged some of my Lit colleagues to submit their work to Phaze. I also took one of the earlier Coming Together anthologies to Phaze. It will be released in print on the 7th, by the way. *grin*) I looked at the initial post as a positive, in general. Free publicity with a link directly to the buy page. A couple of Phaze authors posted clarifications and suddenly, we're a coven of creepy authors for wanting to set the record straight.

A cult, mind you. I'd say that comes dangerously close to libel.

Seriously, what gives? Cults don't allow their members to speak out. (Oh, wait -- that was another publisher -- one that blacklisted authors who didn't behave.) Cults don't let their members belong to other cults... erm, publishers. (Damn, close to half of Phaze's roster has work also published elsewhere -- with its blessing, even.) Cults don't let their members go without a fight. (I can attest that no one's a prisoner at Phaze.)

I have to say, I thought Mrs G was rather polite, I'd have been more likely to call them fucknuts, and tell them to get the fuck off my blog, so really, in the great scheme of things, a teeny tiny comment about a few of their authors being Literotica writers probably isn't that bad methinks.

As for the authors who started life at Literotica, so far I got:

Alessia Brio
Aurora Black
Will Belegon
Selena Kitt

Apparently, there are quite a few more, but that would mean actually looking.

Ok I started looking and came across this question by a Lit author (I'm assuming he/she wasn't from Phaze, but you never know.)

"I was wondering if It reading and writing about underage incest fantays..especially about younger girls....is as disgusting as I sometimes feel it is. I do NOT condone Kiddy porn NOR sexual abuse in any way of minors, but it is still a fantasy of mine....but not that I wan't to be WITH the girl, but that I wan't to BE the girl....so would writing fantays like that make me a bad person?"

He/she doesn't condone kiddie porn, but fantasizes about having underage sex with a family member? Ok then.

This answer from one of the other members, made me want to go and take a bath:

"It is hard for me to believe that thinking is a crime, I certainly hope you WILL explore these fantasies for us in print. I would love to have a womans perspective on what it would be like to have sex at say 15 with your father..... I suspect the emotions and feelings would be far more erotic than anything I can imagine. Sex for the first time for a little girl has to be painful, but emotionally rewarding at the same time. I hope you will explore this! I know I would love to read it."

Emotionally rewarding? Yeah, whatever. That dude is a pedo waiting to happen, if it hasn't already.

Anyway, Selena Kitten, a current Phaze author thinks there's no harm in it, because after all, it's just a fantasy. She writes:

"But the FANTASY of such a thing - NOT the reality, the FANTASY... is a turn on for some. Of both genders. As DCL mentioned (god this is an OLD thread, isn't it??) thinking is not a crime.

Unless I slipped into Big Brother territory when I wasn't looking...
__________________
*~*~Selena~*~* "


I'm assuming that some of the authors might have engaged in similarly open conversations about their likes and dislikes, and just want it to stay hidden. Who can blame them? Blech.

The more I read, the more I decide I am way to prudish to continue, so I'll let you guys read for yourselves. (Oh look out for some dude called Amicus, his views are...interesting, shall we say.)

It always amazes me that authors, especially those that are e-pubbed, seem to have so little self-control, when it comes to perceived slights. Dudes, if you've written for Literotica, why get mad over somebody publicising it? And if you haven't written for Literotica, why assume that everybody will assume that you have written for them just because you write for the same publisher that former Literotica authors write for?

Did that last paragraph even make sense?

I've never been a Phaze fan, and having read three books that were kindly sent to me by one of the bods there, as well as the freebie stories that they offer up on their website, I don't think that that status quo will change anytime soon (seeing as I hate badly edited books) and things like this just seals it for me.

And by the way, I can't imagine that readers will care about whether or not their fave authors started life at Literotica, but the overreaction, now that's always blogworthy. :)

Update:
Speaking of blogworthy, if any Phaze (or ex-Phaze) authors out there want to get in touch about some of the 'interesting' things that your fellow authors get up to, feel free to e-mail me at hairylemony @ gmail .com (without the spaces). You know me, confidentiality guaranteed. *g*

Oh Britney, When Will It Stop?

I found the shots of her being carried into an ambulance, looking totally out of it, very disturbing.

Her life is just soo out of control, that I really fear for her. Unfortunately, the only person who can stop this cycle is Britney herself.

Mrs Giggles Loves Phaze Authors Like A Fat Kid Loves Celery...

Unfortunately for me, I missed the original posts, and the subsequent fall out. But reading between the lines, some of the Phaze authors might have been bitten by the E-author Batshit Crazy Bug. That shit sure is catching huh?

Anyway here's the latest post from Mrs G explaining why she deleted the previous posts.

This is what I get for not checking my Google Reader regularly enough. Dammit.

Karen Does J.D. Robb's Creation In Death...Sort Of...

Here's the blurb from Amazon:

"Lieutenant Eve Dallas keeps the streets of New York City safe in this extraordinary series. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn't save-and the killers she couldn't capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, marked by signs of prolonged and painful torture, Eve is catapulted back to nine years ago.

A man the media tagged The Groom-because he put silver rings on the fingers of his victims-had the city on edge with a killing spree that took the lives of four women in fifteen days. But now, The Groom has returned-and Eve's determined to finish him.

Familiar with his methods, Eve knows that he has already grabbed his next victim. When it turns out that the dead woman was employed by Eve's billionaire husband, Roarke, she brings him onto the case-a move that proves fitting when it becomes chillingly clear that the killer has made it personal. And chances are that he's working up to the biggest challenge of his illustrious career-abducting a woman who will test his skills on every level and who promises to give him days and days of pleasure before she dies: Eve."


I really can't be bothered reviewing this book, so I'll just put down the top ten things that I loved about Creation:

1. Eve Dallas - I love her humour (I have to put her first because after the Why Do People Hate Hillary Clinton discussions over at the SB's blog, I feel the need let the woman come first. *g*)

2. Roarke - Nuff said.

3. Peabody - Love the interactions with Eve.

4. Summerset - Love that Eve insults him constantly, but you know there's great affection underneath.

5. Mavis and Baby - Love the bit where she wops her breast out whilst Roarke is having his eggs sunny side up.

6. The dialogue - Too many great lines to go into, but the ones between Eve and her colleagues amuse me greatly.

7. The Plot - Total page turner, love that.

8. The emotional investment - The scenes between Eve and Roarke are just beautiful.

9. The humour - It's good to laugh for all the right reasons when reading a romance.

10.The lack of TSTL female characters - I love that LaNora doesn't turn Eve into a snivelling wreck who ultimately needs saving by the hero.

In short, it was another fab In Death book, so you really should go and buy.

Happy New Year, And Rene Lyons AKA Dishing Diva Wanted To Get Something Off Her Chest...

Wow, TTG and I are only just recovering from our New Year's Eve blowout. We hosted a party at ours, and I haven't had that much fun, since... last week.

Anyway, I hope you all had an equally good time, whatever you were doing.

Moving on, Rene Lyons, the CEO of the newly formed e-publisher, Dragon Spell Publishing, posted on my blog a couple of days ago.

I think she got a little pissed off by some of the accusations levelled at her, thus this compulsion to set the record straight. Here's what she wrote:

"I just wanted to drop in and give a response to some of these accusations written by two of the Anonymous posters and Puppet Truth.

Let me start with the claim that I "expect to surpass Samhain within a year of operation". That’s preposterous. Nevertheless, I am looking to Samhain, Ellora’s Cave and the other highly successful small presses to see what made them succeed where others have failed. They are the standard by which I’ll judge Dragon Spell. I'm sure anyone can understand that. They are the gold standard and SHOULD be looked to.

As far as me pissing off people, yes, as an author I've misstepped a time a two - put my big fat foot right in my big fat mouth, but then, who here hasn't done or said something that causes them to break out in a cold sweat and wish they could take back? All I can do is learn from past mistakes and solider on and allow the merit of my character and the respectful and honorable treatment of my authors speak for me.

I've also heard it said I "ticked" off someone at ARe. I wrote to Lori James herself and she replied back that such a rumor was utter nonsense and she wondered what someone hoped to gain by saying such a thing. I saved that email from Mrs. James as proof of that blatant lie. I have a very good relationship with the entire staff at ARe.

The RRP authors I've emailed were ones I believed I'd become friends with during my time there as a cover artist. I didn't mass email the authors there. And as far me cold emailing authors, yes, I've done that as a means to introduce Dragon Spell. At the time, I saw nothing wrong with an introduction. I see now that was not the thing to do and have not done so again. A mistake learned from and not repeated.

The claim from Puppet Truth that I am not an inc or llc, that's another blatant lie. It doesn't help their case of discrediting me if someone is caught lying, as Puppet Truth clearly is. How can anything else they say be believed? Our company name is Lyrical Press, Inc. We've chosen to to do business as Dragon Spell in order to broaden our publishing range. You cannot publish erotic along side of young adult, so under the blanket name of Lyrical Press, Inc., we can do both. Dragon Spell can publish all that wonderful goodness that is romance in all of it's forms and genres and Lyrical Press Inc. can publishing everything else.

I was not fired from Red Rose Publishing due to unprofessional behavior despite what is being said. I have the emails and IMs to prove I resigned first as an editor when the publisher did not back me when I criticized the author who posted here "(could have been, I don't know...me)" during edits. I stayed on at RRP for another couple of months (which proves I contunied to have a good relationship with RRP) before resigning at 7am on December 5th after learning that the publisher had begun slandering me (I have saved IMs and emails proving this) the day I informed her I had opened Dragon Spell. I remain at Dark Eden Press as Art Director and have an amazing relationship with everyone there, some of which are actually RRP authors as well.

After making the decision to resign from writing I posted on my personal blog that I would be deleting it and stepping back from the persona of 'Rene Lyons' the author to focus on other ventures. Roughly two weeks later I deleted the blog.

All I want to do is provide readers with good books. I want to give authors a safe and friendly home for their books. I will not be drawn into a tit-for-tat war or reduce myself to playing petty games of gossip. It's unprofessional and highly damaging to a publisher's reputation. That should be remembered at all times and I will do my best to succeed and live up to the promises I've made to my authors of treating them with respect and honoring their hard work.

Renee Rocco
(Rene Lyons)
Dragon Spell Publishing"

Shit, that was long wasn't it?

Anyway, I was really upset when she wrote that she will not be "drawn into a tit-for-tat war", or be reduced to "playing petty games of gossip". Dammit, what the hell am I supposed to do for the rest of the year? Some people are so damned inconsiderate. Sheesh.

(BTW, is it just me, or does Dragon Spell's website go funny whenever I try scrolling up or down?)

Fifth Ward E-mail - It's All Poetry To Me...

I loved this. Blatantly stolen from Just Ginny's blog. (Warning: music on blogsite)