random

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the cerridwen site is ugly as all hell?

Infuriating

I don't even know if I spelled that right. At the moment I'm to much in a tizzy to care. Do you know what just burns my cinnamon rolls (because I like them more than biscuits) ? Buying a new author and having the book turn out horrid. I bought two new books both historical in theme. Both sucked. The first one I couldn't even get to the third chapter. The second one I managed to finish all the while wishing I could take it back. I really just want to throw it away as opposed to giving it to a thrift store or half priced books. No one should be forced to read that crap. Maybe one day I'll do a review on the second book as I have quite a bit to say bout it. Hmm... something to consider.
Now what really steams me is reading a horrid book from a favorite author. Now I know that not every book is going to be a winner, but damn I hate when a streak is broken. When I type about this I am reffering to Ms. Eloisa James' book this duchess of mine (as pictured). What really pained me about this book is it was the first one in the series that i had picked up. I assumed that like many other series books I could just start reading without having read the preceding books. I was wrong. From jump I was lost. The first chaper was like walking into the middle of a play and having no idea who the characters are or even what the play was about. by the third chapter I put the book down and went on amazon to find some reviews to see if I was the only one who was having this problem. Apparently I was not. I didn't even bother reading it after going through a lot of the reviews. Apparently it was not one of her better books. Now usually that doesn't dissuade me from reading a book but I couldn't even get through the beginning. I still had very little idea what their relationship was before the book and frankly after pondering it I found that I really didn't care. Never a good sign in a book.

Review: The Glass Slipper Project

So I'd wanted to read this book forever. Anything having to do with a fairly tale usually catches my attention and I usually enjoy it so I was so excited when I saw the cover and name of this book. I started reading it in a store once an it started off wonderfully. I unfortunately had to return it to it shelf because Jessie was a little low on money that day <_<. Anyway about to days ago I went to half price book (who now by the way have cameras and security) and what should I see but this book The Glass slipper project which I have been looking for forever! So I bought it and boy do I wish I could take this crap back.

The story is about 4 formerly wealthy sisters who are losing their home. It is sold to their ex-servant's son, Alex. The supposed main couple is Alex and the second oldest sister Isabella. Alex and Isabella grew up together and....You know what let me skip to the chase.

This book had a strong beginning that just disappeared after the ball in the first quarter of the book. The Hero became unlikeable and the heroine TSTL (to stupid to love). She had no freaking backbone. I know that was intentional to show how much she, rather suddenly, changes near the end of the book but it was freaking annoying! She lets her sister run over her, she lets her boss run over her, and she lets the hero run over her. I just really, really didn't like her. Even after she hears what the Hero says about her sisters she doesn't stop her sibling's scheme to marry him to one of the sisters.

Another problem I had with this book was the fact that through most of it he is engaged to one of the sisters. I hate the fact that the hero was attached to another woman. Then when that falls through he decides to marry Isabella. Just like Isabella I felt like she was the second choice. their relationship felt forced.

The end of the book felt rushed. loose ends quickly and rather sloppily tied up. Some of the loose ends weren't even tied up. Like where does Alex's relation with his best friend stand now? I just hated this book. Usually I'll re-read something to make sure I didn't miss anything or just because I liked it. If I re-read this book, it would get chucked against a wall like it almost did while I was reading it.

My grade for the glass slipper project: F as in Fucking Failed!

Damn technology

So yesterday my keyboard wondered whether or not it would like the taste of water. The answer is no. No my keyboard did not like the taste of water. A shame really. it disliked it so much that it decided to revolt. I'm a hard boss to work for and you only get two chances to screw me. Long story short I have a new keyboard. YAY!!!!

Ellora's cave mystery.

So I was looking for Ellora's cave royalties when i noticed they aren't on the submission page anymore. Could they be in the author's packet? I don't know and don't feel like looking so you tell me.

edit: yup its in the authors packet 37.5% for electronic 7.5% for print

Alert! Alert! New erotic publisher!

So good news guys! Today Forbidden Passions Press went live. It is an erotic romance publisher. They are accepting submissions for BDSM, Menage , Homoerotic, and capture/abduction. However tey do not say how much royalties they pay. The standard is somewhere around 40%. I sent an e-mail to them to ask them but meanwhile let me give you some info.

edit: Okay they e-mailed back and the pay royalties of 40%. See, I do research for you!

General Submisson info
"We are open for submissions in "forbidden" romance genres, particularly ménage, BDSM, homoerotic and capture/abduction stories from authors who are passionate about erotic romance. Sex scenes must sizzle, be explicit, use adult language and leaving nothing to the imagination. Books can be set in contemporary, historical, paranormal/fantasy worlds, etc. All books MUST possess a strong, romance-oriented plot and have a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending. We are NOT interested in books that are strictly sexfests. Our goal is to cultivate authors with vivid, passionate voices and the ability to deliver well-crafted characters and relationships. We're most interested in books of 40,000 to 60,000 words, but will consider works as short as 20,000 and as long as 80,000. Nothing under 20,000 words will be considered at this time."

Here is their website.

Lyrical press has a call for submissions

I'm just popping in to tell you what I've learned through extensive research (aka going through their blog) Lyrical Press's editor Pamela Tyner is calling for submissions.

"I'm very excited that LP has given their editors the go-ahead to send out submission calls for the sort of manuscripts we’d like to see. So, here’s my own personal wish list...
* Got cowboys? Send them our way and you’ll make me a happy girl.
* Looking for a home for a dominant/submissive story? I’d love to take a look at it.
* And finally, I’d be very interested in reading stories where a character, or characters, have some type of psychic ability."

Well, go ahead, what are you waiting for? I'm sure that there is someone out there that fits the bill... maybe....

I almost had a heart attack

Dear Dear Author,

That crap was not funny....okay maybe a little but I almost had a heart attack until I read through the whole thing. To pretend to be closing down shop to become an agent is cruel and unusual treatment. All I can say is wow. This really must have taken a lot of planning and any free time you still possessed. What I found most entertaining were the fake queries in the comments section. That crap was hilarious. Happy April fools Dear Author!

OMF.....G-2

I am aware this topic is way freakin' old but damnit I just got to it. So suck it up.

I personally feel this topic got way out of line. It turned into a catfight. Its always great to state your opinion but you don't have to disrespect people while you do it. Also, Don't put peoples names out there who have nothing to do with the conversation at hand. I swear sometimes yal be trippin'. It actually really saddened me. This kind of crap was extremely unnecessary, no matter how entertaining and educational it might have been in the beginning.

Let me explain something to all of you. Whatever Jaid black does with her fucking money is none of any of your fuck.ing. busi.ness! How dare you bring up personal information into a very entertaining debate. What the hell is wrong with you!?

Jaid, please shut the hell up and sit down somewhere! Someone is always going to attack you hun. Its a fact of life. Whether it be true or not, just let it roll off your back and keep on swimming.

This really was just a little bit much for me.

OMF.....G!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy crap dudes!

I am reading an old post on DA (dear author) for those out of the loop. I found it via teddy pig when he was discussing why he took EC of his top e-pub list. Holy crap this thread went from bad to worse.

It went from news about EC (ellora's cave) suing Borders, then it went to why EC has a bad print publishing and distribution policy, then it went to EC suing authors, then Jaid Black (aka Tina E.) got in on it accusing anons of having no proof and stating she wished they'd keep their conjecture to themselves (paraphrased), then someone offered to post old e-mails sent by the company, then I guess someone pulled jaid's little happy ass off the blog and the vp came on saying Hell No you can't post any fucking e-mails (Again paraphrasing), then jane called him on his shit, then...OMG...then Cheyenne McCray busted the big one. EC sold her books at an auction for quick cash wthout her knowing.

They sold it to NY publishers and thank god her publisher bid and got it. She's barely getting paid crap for it and she still had to do a lot of work to rewrite it to make it acceptable for NY. Are you fucking kidding me. Damn EC how low can you go?

So let recap this time with quotes ;^) I'm not going to name names becasue you know who you are....

EC suing borders
"I have it on good authority from an industry insider that EC mismanaged its print program and is losing its proverbial shirt on it due to high returns and underestimating just how costly it is to print and distribute books. Borders is woefully mismanaged too, but I doubt Borders is responsible for EC’s losses on the print program. (And even if they are, EC won’t get any money from them; you can’t exactly get blood from a turnip. Borders will either disappear or will be bought out by one of the other chains by the end of the year.)" -

EC has a bad print publishing and distribution policy

Just too many posts to sum up... read #15 &30

EC suing authors
"It’s always fun when Ellora’s Cave sues someone.

Ooh, who else have Ellora’s Cave sued?

How about a bunch of their own authors for starters . . ."

Jaid black saying her piece
"We do not base what goes into print on RT. We have tried to accomodate as many authors as possible by having their books available at RT to sign, but it’s surely not the basis for deciding when a book goes into print. Please quit stating your assumptions as though they are facts."

(oh snap Ms. Black has a mouth on her! and as entertaining as it is my opinion is that yo should close it... but that comes later. Onward we go!)

Someone offers proof by submitting emails
"You’d really like some of those emails to go public? Seriously?.... God, I wish right now I was a packrat when it comes to saving emails. But I do have a friend who keeps every email post that comes into her box, ... I could ask her for copies and we can post. Sound fair enough? We could do it here on DA, headers, footers and all."

I almost forgot to add this. Things that make you go WOW!
Jaid black
"I know one thing I’d like to see… blog owners not allowing people to state rumors, gossip and assumptions as facts when they offer no proof to back up their claims."

Vp comes on to do damge control
"...authors sign an agreement of confidentiality to protect the business information that is shared on that loop. The EC Biz loop is intended to be a private loop to distribute business information. For an author to release that information (publicly or anon) is in violation of that....

To reiterate, no, we do not give permission to put biz loop posts and private info out onto any public forum...

Darrell King
Executive V.P.
Jasmine-Jade Enterprises"

Jane calls him on his shit
"That’s a convenient statement, of course, but Jaid Black is making the accusation that people are liars and inviting them to prove their claims. How do you, on the one hand, call someone to prove it, and in the next breath, say that proving it will amount to a violation of their contract?"

Cheyenne busts the big one that has everyone looking at their contracts
Read post #80. This is one thing you should read to actually see the damage it can do

on to volume 2!

Yeah umm...

So.... you remember that time that I said i was writing and would be in hiding for a while. Yeah I lied. Well not about the writing part about the cutting down on distractions part. I forgot who i was for a minute... or an hour. So now I'm back with more wonderful goodness for you. As soon as I find it....

I've started!

Hey yal. Guess what? I'm officially writing! Yay. However I wont be on here much because I'm a major procrastinator so I need cut down on distractions. While I'm gone why don't you tell me about interracial novels and what pairing you prefer. See ya later!

Writers

Dear lord query writers. You really piss me off! For goodness sake do some freakin' research before you send in these letters. Are you serious?No on gives a damn about your cat! If you'd stop pulling this crap the the agents and editors would stop writing about how crappy the submissions they get are. Do us all a favor and do some freaking research!

And just so I am not talking to myself here are some links...because I'm helpful like that.
How to write a query letter byCharlotte Dillion
Writing a pitch perfect query letter
How to Write a Good Query Letter to Agents and Publishers: The Do's and Don'ts
How to Write a Romance Novel Query Letter

Really? Is that how it works?

Someone once said, in the numerous “how to write” blogs, that it is important to create time and a comfortable space to write. They said there should be a scheduled time where no one is allowed to intrude on your writing. Because of course everyone can just tell their family to leave them alone and make their rosy cheeked bastards....uh I mean children, sit down somewhere and shut the hell up. Where the computer never crashes and all your hard work isn't lost, where the ideas just flow and your heroine doesn't occasionally piss you off for having an incredibly stupid thought, where you don't have to go backwards in the story to change some things so your heroine doesn't go off half cocked and get herself killed trying to save the alpha hero from himself and....oh is that just me?

The point is, in the real world it doesn't work like that. I think they should amend the list to read “pick a time where no one would want to intrude on your writing time”. Such as at this moment at 1:41 am where all sane people are asleep and all nonsane people at least have lives. Where their children are snoring, as quiet as children ever get unless they're about to destroy something. Where there are no loud cars driving by, where is legal to shoot barking dogs....probably, and where one can just sit and enjoy an ice cream bar in peace. Oh yeah and write.