Ryan Field's Blog, page 417

My Problem with Behind the Candelabra Is With the Reviews

My Problem with Behind the Candelabra is with the reviews I've read, not the film...and that's why I waited a few days to write this post. After I watched it on HBO on Sunday night I wanted to think about it for a while and see how it related to my own experiences as a gay man. I also wanted to see how others reacted to it in reviews and comment threads. What I found is interesting.

First, I thought Behind the Candelabra was well executed from a gay historical POV, and because...

Contest Winner...s Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia

This year's Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia was even more exciting than last year's and I just chose a winner for the contest, plus I've decided to add a consolation prize for those who commented and didn't win.

The winner's name was simply chosen from a hat. It was Sophie Bonaste, and I'll be e-mailing her two e-books in a few minutes: Chase of a Lifetime, and Chase of a Dream (Unabridged Version).

And because everyone left such nice comments, and participated in the HAHaT event, I...

Memorial Day Free Excerpt: Silicon Valley Bad Boy

Memorial Day is all about remembrance and respect for those who have died in service. I have always taken these things very seriously and I have nothing but absolute admiration for those in the military who have served, and continue to serve, the US faithfully. These are some of the most awesome people on the planet, men and women. I also get a lot of e-mails from readers in the military and I'd like to post this free excerpt of an upcoming book as a show of thanks. And for those who don't kn...

Out of the Closet Thrift Stores; Cloud Atlas and Yellowface

I don't know who started these stores, but Out of the Closet Thrift Stores have me hooked. I heard about them on social media because we don't have any in the Philadelphia area, and a friend of mine in New Hope who used to live in NYC told me he's been there before. Through a search on their web site I found the closest store to me is in Brooklyn, and I think this is going to be a destination point one weekend this summer.

You can donate and it helps support the AIDS health care foundation.

Ea...

Is the B&N Nook Doomed?

Earlier today I read an article about ten things that will disappear within a year, and one of them was the B&N Nook. The others were interesting, too, like Volvo and Martha Stewart's magazine. In fact two of the products on the doomed list were print magazines.

In any even, this article about the Nook is interesting. It's doesn't say the Nook will disappear within a year, but it doesn't have very high hopes for it either.

The Nook, which is currently having some modicum of success a...

"The Bling Ring" Soundtrack; Openly Gay Frank Ocean

I've had this link about The Bling Ring soundtrack and openly gay Frank Ocean in my in box for over a week now and other things kept popping up that trumped it. But I do like to mention openly gay performers as much as I can so that the people who read this blog who aren't openly gay (for their own personal reasons) see that things are changing.

In other words, I hate to label Frank Ocean and single him out as gay. In a perfect world I wouldn't do that. But I do know that there are many gay m...

Sex Slaves Want Resignation; Benjamin Leroy on Queries; Women who Love Gay Fiction

Sex Slaves Want Resignation

This is something I never knew. Thousands of women were forced into prostitution during WWII in Japan. And now it seems two former Korean sex slaves in their 80's want the resignation of Mayor Toru Hashimoto because he actually tried to justify this act of sex slavery and prostitution.

The women, who did not appear in public, said in a statement they were heartbroken by Hashimoto's "outrageous comments" and didn't want to be seen contributing to a less-tha...

Amazon Sells Fan Fiction; Nude Cumberbatch Shower Scene in Star Trek

This week a lot of places on the interwebs went berserk with Amazon's recent announcement they will be selling fan fiction. It's going to be called "Kindle Worlds." I want to get into what fanfic is, how it's different from parody, and what some of the details are with this announcement from Amazon.

Although I know very little about fanfic or fandom, my first thought was how can they do this legally? From what little I do know about fanfic, it's always been a genre that's been shared and not...

Dan Brown 10 Questions; Dan Brown Viral Parody; Surviving Mean Criticism

In the 10 Questions section of this week's Time Magazine, the focus of the interview is on author, Dan Brown. One of the questions that gets interesting is the way Brown launches a book when he's finished writing it.

There are three angular boxes that I bought when I was in Costa Rica, made out of rosewood. As you remember, rose and rosewood played a role in The Da Vinci Code. One of these three boxes is held by myself, one by my editor and one by my agent. On the night before the book is rele...

Marketing for Romance Writers - Coffee Time Romance

When I see things like this I like to share because marketing for romance writers can be hard at best, but there's an interesting link/thread over at Coffee Time Romance that discusses this in more detail.

From Coffee Time Romance, a web site that I've always liked and followed. And I don't follow that many.

The Marketing for Romance Writers motto is "Seek, teach, share, learn, succeed." MFRW is open to the literary community. We teach members marketing and publicity, and work together to pro...