Ryan Field's Blog, page 469

Gawker Covers Dark Knight Shooting; A Comment from Cartoonist Chan Lowe on Guns

I haven't posted anything about the Dark Knight shooting in Aurora, CO until now, because so many others have been doing it I wasn't sure I could do it any justice. And I also think that people come to blogs like this to get away from things like that sometimes. I know I do.

But I read a few interesting things on the shooting and decided to share.

Here's one from gawker, where they've summed up everything that's happened since the shooting, with tons of links.

And here's a link to a piece by ca...

Meet the New Breed of Author...

I thought this was funny because I just mentioned to a friend I'm going to be starting a few online book readings and posting them to youtube. I've had chances to go to New York and do book readings, and NY is only an hour away from me, but I've declined because I don't think in-person book readings are going to draw a crowd for a small author, or help sell e-books. I think readers who read e-books would prefer youtube videos, especially those who live in places where in-person book readings...

QMO Magazine and Community...

I just saw that QMO Magazine and Community is up and wanted to link to it. I have a piece up there right now, and I'll be contributing more as time goes on.

What I like most about this site is that it's international, and I like reading everything I can about the international LGBT community. You can check it out here. There's a lot to see and a lot of information about the LGBT community. And it's simple to navigate and very simple to comment.

Judging a Book By Its Cover...

Since I've been posting about my experiences with self-publishing, I've kept it real and posted about almost everything I can think of.

So I decided to mention this about Jonah Sweet of Delancey Street before it goes live to avoid any possible confusion...which I really don't think will happen. It's not the first time an author or a publisher made a change like this and it won't be the last.

It was a publisher who once told me that people do, indeed, judge books by their covers. And I've lear...

An Erotic Addition to Jane Austen Novels by Clandestine Classics...

It was recently announced there will be a new line of novels released by Clandestine Classics where erotic scenes will be added to classic novels.

I'm not talking about parody here, not the way I've parodied with gay storylines from straight films or classics. In fact, I dare anyone to read my gay version of "Gay Pride and Prejudice" and find one single line or passage in my book that's even remotely identical to the original "Pride and Prejudice." You won't find it. I parodied the basic stor...

Strokes and People with HIV...Realities of HIV Today...And a Home HIV Test for 25 Years the FDA's Been Blocking?

In Time Magazine this week I read something that surprised me. No links; it came from the print mag. There's a home test for HIV that can be purchased over the counter, and it's been around since 1987.

The idea for such a DYI test has been around since 1987, but the FDA hadn't approved one because of concerns raised by experts over how users would handle a positive result.

Seriously?

This is the kind of government involvement I can live without. It also raises questions about whether or not th...

Interesting Discussion about E-book Piracy...

There's an interesting discussion about e-book piracy over at the Dystel & Goderich blog, in a post written by Abby.

Those of you who follow me know that I've been posting and talking about this for a long time. I have not come to any conclusions about it and I'm not sure at this stage I ever will. I don't advocate piracy because it's against the law and I follow the law in every aspect of my life. But I have heard strong arguments from people who do pirate and in some cases I can understand t...

Beware of Bad Editorial Advice on the Web!

When I say beware of bad editorial advice on the web I'm not talking about all advice. There are more than a few places where writers can go to get excellent advice. There are also excellent editing/writing web sites where writers can go to get varying opinions. And that's what you want: varying opinions so you can decide what's right for you.

What I'm talking about when I say beware of bad editorial advice usually pertains to loud unpublished amateurs who think they know it all. And they don...

More on Fake Internet IDs, Smear Campaigns, and Bullying...

When I read this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer I knew I had to post something about it because it's a good example of what so many are dealing with these days. In short, it's about a disgruntled man who allegedly stalked and bullied people online with anonymous e-mails and fake accounts.

Udinski sent anonymous emails to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, first claiming Algeo sexually solicited a player, and then accusing the new lacrosse coach, Nick Pison, of sexually assaulting students...

Cool Stuff from Kindle Direct Publishing: Joe Mihalic Self-pubs "No More Harvard Debt"

I run across a lot of bloggers and writers on the Internet and once in a while I spot something different.

It happened when I saw Joe Mihalic's blog, "No More Harvard Debt." I liked what I saw so much I wrote a short post, here, last May.

For those who don't know, Joe is a young professional who has been blogging about how he paid off almost six figures in student loans by using good old fashioned American common sense. Instead of complaining about his situation and looking for a handout, he c...