Posts from — September 2009

Planning on doing some work on my book today. One of those building the tension scenes. Love those. To me, the whole story is right there in that tension. You know, makes the coming together much more explosive. Heh.

Got a very interesting email today. Very very interesting.  I am still formulating how I want to respond. (Not if I want to, I will.) The email sort of piqued my curiosity as to the reaction I’d get. Seriously.  Depending on the outcome I get personally, I may have to re-evaluate and reconsider. THAT surprising and interesting.

Oh yeah, guess I should mention I decided to run for Member at Large Director for Passionate Ink, the erotic romance RWA chapter. They needed volunteers to run, so I thought why not. I would have signed up for something else, but it is appearing I may be president of the Tallahassee chapter for another year. Would I do president of PI later? Yeah, that is a possibility. I encourage any RWA member in good standing to step up for office in any chapter. It is a good way to get out there and help make the entire organization better.

Had a great day. Busy…lots of talking. I don’t plan on much tonight. I plan on reading in bed. Exciting, huh? It’s about all I can take. I didn’t sleep well last night. I think I lay awake until sometime after 5am. Ugh.

So I am off. A book is calling my name. But then my pillow is much more seductive.

I am so easy to please. LOL

Not much time to chat. I’m off to Tallahassee today. I’m meeting Tracy for lunch and “writing”. Not sure we will write much of anything. Usually we end up gabbing the whole time. Imagine that.

I started reading BOUND TO PLEASE. I am really liking it. Maybe because the heroine is a bit older than the usual. The hero is a younger man, which is very cool. However, he is very much the Dominant. The first sexy scene with this guy, I thought he may be too Dom. But you know, I don’t live the lifestyle, so I can’t imagine letting a man take such control and so quickly. Quite frankly, I don’t think I am the submissive type.

I will be posting my review of DOMMEMOIR in a day or so. I really enjoyed the book. I will give more details about it in my review.

Why is it that FemDom erotic fiction is a hard sell? I really can’t understand this. In the past, EC had a rule about “no FemDom”. Why? Is a submissive hero (or “beta” personality male) less attractive? I don’t think so. There are lots of “beta” heroes in movies and tv. Or is it that a female Domina is likely to come off as a bitch? Why can’t a woman be strong and Dominant and not be a bitch? I mean, isn’t it the responsibility of the Dominant to care for her sub? To see to his needs?

I think I may need to look into the FemDom erotic fiction a bit closer. I like male Dom stories, but I prefer female Domina stories more.

This is very interesting:
http://karenknowsbest.com/2009/09/22/quartet-press-wheres-the-remorse-are-we-any-the-wiser/

I thought I was the only one who felt this way. The Quartet Press drama seemed just so…bizarre. I mean, they promoted the company well in advance of an opening date. They used the romance reading/ writing community to their advantage in promoting the company. They even hired an influential editor from her job to join the company.

Then they announce the company will not open. The on coming staff is left with the deer in the headlights confusion. (Including leaving Angela James without a job…)

What the hell?

I read this post too: http://booksquare.com/how-i-spent-my-summer-vacation/

My question is, did you think starting an publishing company would be easy? It is not. That is why so many fail within the first 2 years.

Okay, I’ve been around the block in epublishing a while. Yes, I did sub to newbie epubs in my time. I’ve learned from my mistakes.

Keys to looking at epubs, especially NEW companies not yet open:

* Are they running a “contest” where the prize is a contract? For newbie pubs, this is a disguised way to get submissions. Beware. If the pub is established (I’m thinking Amber Quill) and they run a contest, it is fine. Why? In Amber Quill’s “Amber HEAT” contest, it is because they are normally closed to open submissions.

* Does the company have anyone claiming ownership?  In other words, is there an actual NAME of the owner on the site. If not, what is the big secret? This is the first thing I look at. There are a few epubs out there (even established ones) who hide the owner names. Again, why?

* I am also leery of epubs run by authors. Why? Been there, done that. It becomes a vanity press for the owner. That is just not cool. I can remember how the owner of Venus Press would put her books into print over the better selling books–just because she could. I’ve even seen “best seller” lists tweaked to include the owner’s books, bumping another author from the list. I am not lying. Can you see why I butt heads with her? The question you have to ask if an epub is run by an author, are they using it to publish their own books? Of course, New Concepts Publishing comes immediately to mind as well. The owners hid for YEARS behind multi pen names. They give their books preference for print and promo in magazines. They continue to produce new pen names to publish under. It is sickening to those of us who were unfortunate enough to sign with them. Anyone NOT an owner became window dressings to a vanity press. When I signed with them, I had thought it was a good epub as they were in business for years and years. Shit. Oh how wrong I was! I discovered shortly after signing that their big name authors were the owners. How? I met them at RT! I was duped. (I won’t even get into the trouble I had with being emailed crap from Madris. That is a whole other rant. Check out this link for more on how NCP threatened those of us (members of the NCP Bad Apples) who dared challenge the owners on High: http://karenknowsbest.com/category/new-concepts-publishing-behaving-like-fucktards/  Oh, we made her list. Yeah, I’m shaking. Pfft. No, not so much.)

Can you all tell I hit my limit with bull shit?

Renee, girl you best email me your new number. I feel a bitchfest in the future.

Okay, joking aside, I saw on EREC a mention how Red Rose Publishing was marked as “not recommended” by Preditor & Editors. That has been their status for at least a year. It happened shortly after I left RRP as an artist.

Now I see on Piers Anthony’s site* there is a report of trouble there involving editing and threats of contractual breach. As someone who was told my matter was given to the RRP lawyer, one has yet to present himself/herself in any sort of communication with me.

*Note: I don’t put a whole lot of stock into Mr. Anthony. I turned in a bad epub years ago and was basically called a liar along with the few other authors who also left the same time. We were labeled as trouble makers. The truth I’d reported did come to light eventually, and I was vindicated by seeing the pub fail amid scandal.

Right now I am waiting out my 90 day clause and if I don’t get the rights back to Stolen by the Sheikh, I will get a lawyer. Not one created in my head. I actually have the name and contact info to a contract lawyer ready to go–one that is a friend of a friend. (Hey, it is all about networking, and as a president of an RWA chapter, I’ve managed to make several helpful contacts.)

As for my opinion of RRP…I agree with P&E.

Never in my career have I ever dealt with such complete nonsense over a 2 year old novella whose contract had run out and auto-renewed without mutual consent as stated in their contract.

My plans for my Sheikh story? I have none. I was going to expand on the novella, but I have no desire to even bother. At this point, I never want to see it again.

And yes, I am very aware of the whisperings about me around the ‘net. Here are a few truths for you all to read over:

* No, I never had a vested interest in Red Rose Publishing. I was paid for my website work. I was asked opinions, but they were not taken in many cases.

* The only epub I put my heart into was Venus Press, and I was betrayed by a supposed “best friend”. It only occurred to me after leaving that I was a pawn in a scheme to get set up then dumped to take all the profits instead of dividing them. The situation hurt me deeply. Very deeply. It took me 2 years to really move on from it. I don’t ever like to say I hate another person, but in this case, I made an exception. The idea of her revitalizing the company for a return is so insane to me….yet the site is up, but nothing has changed in months. (Not to mention the terrible grammar for the only sentence on the site…Ugh)

* I do not keep many friends close anymore because of the situation above. I have a few select close friends, and everyone else, I keep at a distance. Basically, if your number is on my cell phone right now, you are a friend. And I went through my list deleting today, so I know who I kept.

* I don’t like to take shit. Who does? So when the owner of Silk’s Vault tried to explain her royalty calculations not based on my contract, but on the workings of another epub, I did get feisty. Yes, this happened. Yes, I was threatened with a lawyer. (Been there, heard that.) Only this instance, I told her to please do contact her lawyer as it was clear she couldn’t read her own contract. My books were released from her company later that day. I had left several epubs (like Venus and Silks) and earned quite the reputation of being a badass. I know, I’ve talked to my Brooklyn bud who gives me the lowdown. Being in epublishing for as long as I have been, I’ve seen a lot–dealt with idiot owners, not too savvy editors, and tried to help those reluctant to see any opinion other than their own. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes…not.

Again, I don’t like to take shit. But I have to run through the hoops before I can take the next step. Threats do not scare me. Really. So don’t even bother.

EDITED TO ADD:
In reading this post over, it sounds like I am mad. I’m angry but at the same time, quite calm. I am just so tired of the bull shit. Wonder why I really haven’t been subbing to epubs much anymore? I just don’t have it in me to bother. I have one new title coming out next year. It will probably be my last. I want the brass ring. It is overdue. I’ve seen folks come in after me land big NY contracts, and it kills me. When is my turn? It better be soon, or I quit.