Ryan Field's Blog, page 492

AnthonyLAND: Blogger Anthony Romero

A reader passed me a link to this blogger and I wanted to mention him in a quick post. Before I get into his blog, I'd like to state that this is not for the faint of heart (smile.) The blog contains explicit adult content, so if you're only interested in schmaltzy m/m romance (which I do love at times), this might not be the web site for you. Or, if you feel superior and you like to turn gay men into toy poodles and call the "boys," as I know some do, stick with the fake gay stuff that's out there.

But if you are interested in all things gay male oriented, from literary novels published by fine companies like Cleis Press to the wonderful m/m romances you might find at 1placeforromance.com or Allromanceebooks.com, and you are open to all aspects of gay male culture without passing judgment or feeling superior and quasi literary (had to get that shot in, and only because I see so much bullshit about these quasi "literary" types who don't even have clue :) then by all means check out AnthonyLAND. You will not be disappointed.

This blog, as I remember it in the beginning, is what blogging is really supposed to be about. It was created by Anthony Romero, and this is what his profile says:

"Model, performer, lovable jackass. Anything I say can and will be used against you."

His posts range from his own erotic videos to a few great personal posts about his life. He writes about his diet and his work outs. One post in particular I read recently was about how disappointed he was with a recent dog boarding experience. I have two dogs, and his post resonated with me because it is the exact reason why I NEVER board my dogs or trust anyone with them.

I'd also like to add that the reader who sent me his link also sent me an attachment of a short erotic story Anthony wrote. It was absolutely excellent. His fiction is what gay fiction is, and should be, all about. Not only is the natural writing talent there, with room to be nurtured, the voice and tone of his material surpassed anything erotic I've read in a long time. I hope he continues to write and pursue getting his fiction published. I think we need more guys like him writing gay fiction to keep the genre both alive and authentic, and I'd be willing to bet most of my serious readers would agree with me.

Here's an excerpt from one post about his diet and workout routine, and the photo above is the example he's talking about.

Some of the things I say come from my own experience and research, but by no means are the only right way. I take no responsibility for anyone hurting him or herself. Take everything you read here and anywhere with a grain of salt; however, while I may not be a professional, I do have a bit of knowledge (here's proof ;)[image error]

Line Edits for "Chase of a Lifetime"

This week I'm down to doing the line edits for my new indie release, "Chase of a Lifetime." I didn't hear back from anyone at QED regarding the procedure of getting an e-book stamp of approval, so I'm literally going line by line through the book this week to make sure there aren't any editoral mistakes. I recieved the final draft from the copyeditor I hired and I've already put it up, with the cover, on Amazon in PDF so I can see how the final book will look as readers will see it.

And I guess I'm doing it the hard way. But it works for me and keeps me organized. I'm going line by line, just as I would do for a publisher with a galley, just as I've been doing for the last twenty years with all fiction I've had published. I'm keeping track of the changes, and then I'm going back to the word document and making the changes. The only difference is this time I get the final say (smile). So far, I'm halfway through the book and I've only come up with about ten small issues. They are things like "haircut" being spelled as "hair cut." Or I left the "t" off the word "thought" and it looks like "though." I know as a reader how annoying those things can be to me and I don't want to see them in my book.

The line editing is probably the most intense part of the indie process for me. I want this book to be up to standard, as if it were published by any publisher with whom I've worked before. I'm shooting for a release date next Monday. But until I know for certain that I'll have the line edits finished and I'll have a last chance to read through the final draft, that's still tentative. So the release date may be the following Monday.

TBCC and the Rogue Prince

I had fun writing this book, and I haven't talked about it much. It's not exactly a classic Cinderella story because both main characters come from well off backgrounds. But it's close enough because it deals with royalty. And I did model one character loosely after adorable Prince Harry. I'm a die hard royalist and always have been. And I've always found the complicated lives of royals absolutely fascinating. While I'm not to thrilled with William and his new wife, I think Prince Harry would be a lot of fun if he really did what he wanted to do. You just know he knows how to have a good time by looking at him, and I'm not talking about anything sexual here.

When I wrote the story for this book, I tried to imagine what would happen if someone like Prince Harry decided to take a short break from being a royal so he could find out what the real world is up to. I also used parody in several scenes from the old movie Roman Holiday. If you read the book you won't find that many scenes from the film match scenes in the book. But one parody in particular I did was from the scene in the film where the princess is at a reception and her feet start to hurt. She takes off her shoes and no one can see this beneath her gown. And then she can't get them back on again. Of course I couldn't do that with a male character. It wouldn't be possible. I rewrote the scene so that the prince in my story would be in pain because he's wearing a penis ring beneath his formal royal military uniform. He's so uncomfortable and the penis ring is pinching his groin so hard he puts his hand in his pocket when no one is looking and pops the penis ring. It winds up falling down his pants, and then landing on the floor. He quickly kicks it over to the man standing next to him and pretends he knows nothing about it. When the wife of the man standing next to him sees the penis ring on the floor, she punches her husband. It's a slapstick parody of an old scene and I thought it helped break up a rather serious situation.

The only thing I wish I had done with this book was to use parody for the title as I've done with other books. Though the storyline is quite different from Roman Holiday, I do think that if I'd come up with a title more like "Hamptons Holiday," or "Holiday in the Hamptons," it would have worked better for the book. There's a lot more background about this book I'll write about in the future with regard to why I wasn't thrilled with the title. Interesting stories that usually don't happen that I'd like to share someday.

RWA, Tolerance and Diversity, Revision to Rules?

For those who recall, in February there was an issue over banning LGBT material in a contest that was being run by RWI, which is a chapter of RWA. I posted about it here, with links. Ultimately, the contest was cancelled abruptly and the passion expressed with regard to the "issue" died down fast. Internet issues like this often have short life spans. There's an incident, everyone jumps on board with an opinion, and then it's over three days later never to be discussed again.

Well I've been waiting until the end of March to see if anything would happen and if RWA would at least address the issue. I had to search around because I didn't see it mentioned anywhere, at least it wasn't mentioned as loudly as it was when the contest banned the LGBT material. I did find something interesting. RRW, Rainbow Romance Writers, did post on March 21st, here.

And in this link, you'll find even more details that explain the situation in depth. I do know this was a huge move for RWA and I'm not going to express any personal opinions yet. At least it's progress.

I didn't see much else out there written or posted anywhere, and I'd like to thank Heidi Cullinan for taking the time to do this. And for taking the time to follow up on something I'm sure most have forgotten about by now. She really did nail it and anything I would write here in addition would only take away from her post...which I totally agree with.

Please check out both links and read about the issue yourselves. It's nice to see someone so passionate and working so hard with good intentions.

A Little Seltzer Down Your Pants: Chuckles Bites the Dust

Amazon Indie Publishing Venture: Cover Preview for "Chase of a Lifetime"

I had a completely different post planned for today. But the cover artist I've been working with for the new cover for my Amazon indie romance, "Chase of a Lifetime," sent me the first draft this morning.

This isn't just the first draft. It's exactly what I pictured and it's going to now be the final draft. I wanted a simple cover, with just the title and my name. And also a great image of a guy in a cowboy hat since that's a big part of the storyline.

I will be posting more soon. I don't have an exact release date set because I'm going to be getting the copy edits back soon and then I'm giving the book a few final reads to make sure the quality is there. At least my readers know one thing: I've been around for a long time and I know how to edit and get a book out. I've also learned from past mistakes, some of which weren't even my fault but I took the heat anyway. And when you go through experiences like that, you don't forget them...ever. So the quality of this book is top priority. From cover to copy I don't want something that looks as if it was slapped together and uploaded to Amazon. They tell me I can change things even when the book is up. But I'd rather get it right the first time.

Huge thanks to Dawne Dominique for doing this cover. Check out her work and see what I mean.

When Jim Darling graduates from Princeton and goes back home to Texas, he dreads everything ahead of him. He's almost twenty-one years old, still in the closet, and has never been with a man. Though his father wants him to go to law school so he can join him in his law firm, it's the last thing Jim wants to do.

On Jim's first night home, during his college graduation party at his mom and dad's ranch, he runs into his best friend's dad, Len Mayfield, a rugged, handsome investment banker in his late thirties who rides horses and wears a cowboy hat when he's not working as an investment banker. Len's life isn't much different from Jim's. He's been in the closet forever, he's trapped in a marriage of convenience with a wife who cheats, and he's resigned to his circumstances.

That is until Len runs into the grown up version of Jim Darling at the graduation party. What happens after that blossoms into something neither of them ever expected. A long seduction leads to fantastic love-making. There's enough passion, heartache, and frustration to challenge their fragile relationship in more ways than one after Jim makes a huge mistake.

Will Jim Darling find a way to come clean with his mom and dad so he can find the happiness he's always wanted? And will Len Mayfield find the courage to finally come out of the closet and walk away from a life that has never made him happy?

Barnes & Noble List

This afternoon someone e-mailed me a promotion about Barnes & Noble and I clicked the link and was surprised to find a lot of my books there. I knew my loveyoudivine books were there. But I didn't know I was there with other publishers. Although I've had a B&N account for years, I don't own a Nook and rarely go there since I bought my Kobos.

I have to say it's a great site to navigate and all the product information seems to be spot on. In fact, the one thing that really *amazed* me was how the reviews differ from places like Amazon and Goodreads. And I'm not talking about slightly. I'm talking about big time differences. What this is all about I haven't a clue. That's all I'm going to say on that topic...just that it's different.

Here's the link to my page. And a huge thanks to those who've purchased my books on B&N and have taken the time to leave reviews. I really do appreciate it.

Will "Fifty Shades of Grey" Change the Internet in Some Ways?

I've already explained how I discovered "Fifty Shades of Grey," here in this post. I've discovered many books I love by doing this...reading a bad review on what's considered a professional online review site and checking the book out for myself. With this particular web site where books are reviewed, nine times out of ten I wind up loving the book and wondering why the reviewer hated it. If it happened once I'd think it was me. But when it happens dozens and dozens of times I start to think that maybe the review site I'm checking out is catering to a smaller more elite crowd of readers. Or, maybe I DO have horseshit taste (smile).

I think it's important to state first that I do respect ALL reviewers, and I believe everyone has the right to an opinion, especially when it comes to books. I've also found some of the most wonderful books I've ever read by going to review sites and reading the good reviews. The theme of this post is not to bash ANY reviewers or even question them. It's to examine the disconnect I've been seeing lately between what's discussed online and what's discussed in the mainstream. For example, when "Bridges of Madison County," was released it was a huge mainstream success, and yet there are still people bashing the book online to this day. The same thing happened with "Twilight." We all know how some so-called online "experts" feel about Amanda Hocking. And now I'm seeing the same with with "Fifty Shades of Grey."

I read FSoG and loved it (thanks to that scathing review on that one particular web site where books are reviewed). I also read BoMC and "Twilight" and loved them, too. I haven't read Amanda Hocking yet, but the odds are I'll like her work at the very least. I don't think anyone would have guessed that FSoG would every become as big a book as it is right now. When I bought it I would never have guessed this. But now I read something about it everywhere I go. And here's the interesting thing. If you go to any mall in any suburban town in the USA and you ask people at random if they've ever heard of the review site where I read the review that slammed FSoG before it went mainstream, I'd bet money no one in the mall would know who you were talking about. But go to the same mall and ask them if they've heard of FSoG. I'll bet at least half would know the book you are talking about. This proves one thing: the Internet has come a long way, but still has a long way to go. Most people, in the real world, don't know half of what's going on in online publishing communities. And they don't care either.

The most interesting thing is that FSoG started out as an online book and did the impossible by crossing into the mainstream. I've read allegations about it being fanfic and I don't think that's even significant at this point. FSoG has sparked interest and people are reading it and liking it. If you don't believe me, check out Amazon reviews where 580 people have reviewed and rated the first book and it has a four star average. If a fanfic author managed to get a big book and cross into the mainstream, I couldn't be more thrilled for her. That's all I care about. And though I can't say the book's worst online critics have been proven wrong because reviewing books is subjective (no one can be wrong when they review a book and that's important to state), I can say that the book's most serious critics have proven that their personal taste in books can now be questioned in a very big way. At the very least their taste can be questioned with regard to what the mainstream public wants to read.

As more people in the mainstream discover more about the Interwebs, through iPads and tablets and devices that connect them to online information, I can't help but wonder whether or not the credibility of web sites like the one where I read the scathing review of FSoG will diminish in time. In the past they've attracted an elite set of readers that tend to think the same way they do (or they are terrified to disagree with them). In their small online world they've been very popular. But will the mainstream find web sites like this too elite, and will the content they've been putting out in the last decade begin to look less trustworthy because their taste is so off with regard to the mainstream. I don't mean to say they aren't telling the truth. I believe they are passionate and they believe in what they are doing. I'm only wondering about whether or not their own personal truth is something the mainstream public will take seriously...or even care about. And will they remain relevant? Evidently, FSoG is a good example of how strongly the mainstream disagrees with what's considered credible online.

It's Baseball Time: "Capping the Season"

I'm going to spend some time in the coming weeks, in between posts about my indie publishing venture, revisiting previously published short stories I've written for loveyoudivine.com. For those who don't know, LYD is an all inclusive e-publisher of erotica and erotic romance, and there are even a few "sugar and spice" romances for readers. I've been with them longer than I've been with any other e-publisher and I'm working on a short story submission right now titled: "Mike the Married Man."

The original version of "Capping the Season" was pubbed in an anthology a long time ago by Alyson Books. I think this is when Alyson was in LA, but I could be wrong about that. Either way, I maintained the copyrights and decided to re-release it as a short e-book about two years ago. I revised many parts of the story and added a few things the original didn't have that I thought were important to the storyline. I also wanted to give readers a choice between buying an entire anthology and one short story. I've stated before that I love anthologies. I really do. But I also like to have choices. And sometimes I don't want to spend the money on the whole anthology. I only want to read a couple of stories...which for me has become one of the huge benefits of digital reading.

Anyway, "Capping the Season" is a story about a baseball player and a young professional who meet under unusual circumstances. I'm posting the blurb below and an excerpt and product details. It can be purchased here at the publisher's web site, or here on Amazon.


When handsome young Hunter finally sells his mansion and decides to downsize to a luxury condominium, his biggest fear about moving is that he's going to miss taking care of all the handsome young landscapers he's grown so fond of in the old neighborhood. But when he winds up in the backseat of his car with his real estate agent on the day of settlement, he believes this is a good omen, and moves into the new place with red, puffy lips, sore knees, and a huge smile on his face. This is when he discovers he's now living next door to a famous baseball jock who is drunk most of the time and thinks nothing of walking around in a pair of boxer shorts and a white T-shirt. But that's nothing compared to what happens when Hunter visits him on his deck one afternoon, wearing nothing but a skimpy towel and a huge smile.

Ebook ISBN:978-1-60054-326-5
Length: 5000 words
Genre: Gay Lit / Contemporary
loveyoudivine Category: His and His Kisses
Rating: Shooting Star
$2.50
Excerpt:
Hunter's sex appeal came in that innocent way dark, rough men always seem to notice. About five eleven, with blond hair and large blue eyes; a slim body frame enhanced by working out in the basement with free weights and push ups. Though his arms weren't particularly large, his chest muscles responded to bench presses and push ups to the point where they rounded and popped like unbreakable ostrich egg shells sliced directly in half. But most men noticed one thing first: his round ass, a protruding cushion begging to be pounded and slapped and plugged.

The landscaping guys, always on the down low, would furtively watch while he pruned and trimmed hedges, parading his naked torso, sometimes pulling the sheer shorts so far below his waist half the crack of his smooth ass could be seen. Though it didn't happen often (most of the time this was just a show), when Hunter noticed one of the guys seriously watching, he'd gradually arch his back, stretch his arms and then nod toward the garden shed. The guy would follow him to a private place behind the shed, where Hunter would slip off his shorts and lay face down on a pile of mulch. He'd then spread his legs wide, arch his back so his engaging ass would be in the air, and the guy would pull down his zipper for a quick afternoon fuck. In a white enamel pail with chips around the rim, Hunter kept lube and a full supply of condoms. Once, on a rare, unforgettable afternoon, when four Spanish speaking studs had been drinking too much beer on the job, Hunter spread his legs and arched his back while all four took turns nailing him into the mulch pile. It took a week for the reddish hand prints, where they'd squeezed his supple ass so hard, to disappear.


Though he'd miss the summertime romps and capping off the baseball season with the landscaping boys, living a mortgage-free life was far more exciting. The new town house, in an exclusive community of only thirty large units, had year round landscapers included in the monthly community fees. Hunter would never have to push a lawn mower, dig with a shovel or rake a leaf again. He wouldn't have to work out at home in the basement anymore either; he could now afford to join a gym like all his friends, where he'd prance around naked in the locker room for men who were just as horny (and dirty) as the landscaping guys. He also portended he'd be able to distract at least a few of the guys who landscaped in the new town house community, too, by walking around on his rear deck in nothing but a short towel.

He drove directly to the new town house after settlement and saw the moving crew had arrived on time. Three overweight guys in Dodger baseball caps with yellow teeth and man breasts. In the back of his mind he'd been hoping for fierce and rugged moving men, with shaved heads and pierced nipples who would only be too happy to pull down their zippers while he sucked them all off in the back of the truck consecutively: an unfulfilled moving van fantasy that caused his hole to twitch.

A Nice Book to Be In: "Cruising"

I feel like I'm going to extremes with every post I write this week. Yesterday I posted about my small self-publishing venture on Amazon, and today I'm posting about a short story I wrote for a book that's been published by a "traditional" print publisher, Ceis Press. The title of the book is "Cruising." You can find it here on Amazon, and I'll post a publisher link below.

The reason why it's so nice to be in this book is because I started writing for small LGBT presses (I can't embrace the "Q" yet, maybe in time) a long time ago and I've always been a fan of LGBT anthologies. Before there was a sub-genre called M/M Romance, it was small presses like Cleis that published some of the best LGBT material ever written. It gave me experience and the opportunity to grow as a gay male author when no one else would. And there's nothing like the feeling of getting that fresh print book in the mail and seeing the cover.

And I'd like to continue to submit work to Cleis and other small presses as much as I can. Unfortunately, there isn't much money involved. But for me it goes deeper than that. I read a blog post last night that was written by one of these loud, pushy "people" who write what "they" consider "LGBTQ Literary," and I was amazed at what this author considers "LGBTQ Literary." It's schmaltz at best. Let's just say she used the word "nookie" in an excerpt where a young gay man is thinking about having sex for money. No young gay man uses the word "nookie," unless it's in dialogue and he's making fun of someone else. It's as simple as that. And if this is what is going to be considered "LGBTQ Literary," I think it's important for gay authors to continue to keep LGBT presses like Cleis flowing with submissions so the distinctions are made and lines are drawn. There's nothing wrong with schmaltzy M/M Romance. I've done it myself and I love reading it. But let's be honest about it, too.

I also think it's important for everyone who loves reading LGBT fiction to support small presses like Cleis and buy their books. If you don't want the e-book, you can also go to the publisher's web site and buy the book as a print book. You might not find the schmaltzy "LGBTQ Literary" fiction the author I spoke about above thinks is great writing, but you will find some interesting stories written by gay people who know what they are talking about. In other words, you're not being scammed into believing the book is something that it's not by someone who doesn't know what she's talking about. I don't think you'll be disappointed either. It's a lot like the difference between real chocolate and "flavored" chocolate.