Ryan Field's Blog, page 500

Audible.com: An Officer and His Gentleman as an Audio Book

I've been wanting to post about this for a while but something keeps coming up and I keep postponing it.

The reason I'm posting is I've had a few readers e-mail me and ask if any of my books are available on audio. One is: AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN. You can find it here, on audible.com. There are a lot of reviews, too. Unlike goodreads, where who knows what goes on, I'm always comfortable with the reviews left on web sites like audible. In fact, as a reader, I often go there to check out the reviews when I'm thinking about buying a book.

Why do I do this? It's simple. I trust the authenticity of the reviews at places like audible more so than I trust them at goodreads and amazon. I won't go into detail about why in a general sense. It's partly because I believe readers, and only readers, make purchases at sights like audible and leave reviews. And I've explained it partly in this post. And as a reader, I've found that most reviews on audible have never let me down.

Will there be other books of mine on audible.com? I honestly don't know the answer to this. If I had the power to control this, I would invest my time and money to do this without any questions. If I ever decide to indie publish, I will definitely do this. However, I don't have any choice in the matter. Publishers decide these things. So if you are interested in listening to more books, contact the publishers and let them know. They usually like hearing these things. And if enough people do it they might even pay attention.

Authors Writing Reviews and Goodreads...

When I came across a blog post written by a young adult author, Hannah Moskowitz, I couldn't help but read it just because of the title: AN OPEN LETTER TO THOSE WHO REVIEW ON GOODREADS. In fact, I love this post and wish I'd thought of it first. You can get there from here to read the full post.

Although I don't follow the YA drama closely, I have heard about some of the things going on between YA authors with respect to reviews and how these reviews are written and received. I have no comment there because I've seen similar things happen in the romance world more often than not.

I agree with Hannah Moskowitz about knowing when to step back on goodreads...and other places that are designed for readers to leave book reviews. As an author, I've learned to curtail my opinions for reasons I think are important to readers. I almost feel as if I'm intruding sometimes because I'm an author. And I don't want to make readers feel awkward or uncomfortable by getting in the way of their book review experience. There are times I wish I could hop into a blog thread and discuss a book on romance review sites, but I always feel as if I'm intruding and that I'll ruin it for readers.

Hannah says this:

That doesn't mean I can't write reviews, even negative ones; I do sometimes, and there are some amazing combination writer/reviewers out there--Phoebe North, anyone?--but it does mean that if I go out there and comment on bad reviews with sarcasm and bitchiness and general asshole-dom, I make writer-hannah look like a fucking idiot.

What's more, I embarrass my fans, I disrespect people who support me, and I give YA writers a bad name, and that just isn't how this shit is going to go down.

I agree completely. I would never, and I have never, gone after another author in public by throwing the first punch. As Hannah stated, I'd look like an absolute asshole. I've never jumped into a comment thread and attacked another author. But authors sometimes do this and they never look good in the end.

I like to look at it this way. Almost all of the authors I know have respect for each other and respect for their genre. They stick together like cops, doctors, and all other professionals. So if you see an author who leaves snide, bitchy comments about other authors the odds are she's an asswipe (or a nut). Most authors don't do this unless they are asswipes (or nuts). And if they do it long enough, readers know how to spot them as asswipes (and nuts).

Check out Hannah's post in full. She has a way with dirty words I love, too.

Roland S. Martin and the Gay-Bashing Tweet

I've been reading about the alleged tweet Roland S. Martin sent during the Super Bowl. I've read about it here, and here.

For those who don't know, Roland S. Martin is a regular on CNN.
This is the tweet he sent out after David Beckham's underwear ad:

"If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him! #superbowl"

The hashtag, #superbowl, means this tweet went out to everyone else who tweeted with the same hashtag.

CNN issued this statement:

"Roland Martin's tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being."

This is what GLAAD issued:

"CNN today took a strong stand against anti-LGBT violence and language that demeans any community," said Rich Ferraro, GLAAD spokesperson. "Yesterday, Martin also spoke out against anti-LGBT violence. We look forward to hearing from CNN and Roland Martin to discuss how we can work together as allies and achieve our common goal of reducing anti-LGBT violence as well as the language that contributes to it."

I read this in Queerty:

If this were a pro athlete we might expect such ignorance, but Martin makes his living with his words—he's a regular on CNN, MSNBC, BET, BBC and Fox News, and is a commentator on TV One, an African-American network available in over 36 million homes. Making a crack at someone's expense is fine, but when you're a public figure, even jokingly advocating violence is just plain stupid.

No comment from me. What's already been said speaks for itself.

I would, however, like to see how CNN is going to handle this. When Helen Thomas did something similar, her entire career was ruined. We all know what happened to Mel Gibson.

Of course Martin rushed to his web site to apologize. But this isn't the first time something like this has come up with Roland S. Martin. Check this out:

Last year, Martin defended Tracy Morgan when Morgan said that if his son were gay, he would "pull out a knife and stab him." After Morgan apologized by saying he does not "believe that anyone should be bullied or just made to feel bad about who they are," Martin said he would not have chosen to do so. In 2006, when Reverend Al Sharpton urged for unity between the African American and LGBT communities, Martin used it as an opportunity to drive a wedge and advocate for the discredited and abusive practice of so-called "ex-gay" conversion "therapy." In his most recent apology, Martin claimed to have always used his voice to "speak progressively." Clearly that has not been the case; we hope in the future that it will be.

M/M Romance Blogs: Chicks & D..ks

Whenever I think about how the gay/lesbian genre has evolved in the past twenty years, I'm still in absolute shock. Ten years ago, if you were writing anything with same sex content, your choices were to try to get a short story into an anthology published by a gay press, try to get a single author title pubbed by a gay press, or hope for the best and contact a literary agent who represented authors in the "gay/lesbian" genre. There weren't many agents who did this; there still aren't; mainstream publishers have never considered same sex material saleable.

If you self-published you were basically wasting a lot of money and time...unless you did it for vanity reasons. If you were a reader looking for books with same sex material your choices were just as limited as author choices. Even today, if you haven't joined technology and started reading digital books, you're not getting the choices in brick and mortar bookstores.

And then came M/M Romance, in digital format. In some cases, M/M/ Romance has replaced Chick Lit for some readers. And the variety within the sub-genre of M/M Romance seems to be across the board. There are sexy romances with explicit scenes, there are more emotional romances with less sex, and there are highly charged romances with hardly any sex at all. The choices now astound me, mainly because I never thought I'd see this happen.

I remember a blog post Lori Perkins wrote about six or seven years ago. I'd been following her agent blog for a while and I enjoyed her take on the publishing industry. I'll never forget one post she wrote about erotic romance and same sex erotic romance. She actually talked about authors writing same sex erotic romance and making money while doing it. At the time, I'd been writing and getting published in the "gay/lesbian" genre for almost fifteen years. I thought the woman had lost her mind. The only money I was ever paid for submitting a short story to a gay press was a flat fee of fifty bucks and one free copy. No royalties; no hope for anything more than fifty bucks. And one gay press in particular had dropped its flat fee to twenty-five bucks. I believe they are still doing this. Gay/lesbian fiction wasn't just on the fringes of publishing it wasn't even on the map.

Evidently, Lori saw something coming I didn't see. I'm glad I took her post seriously, too. As an author always eager to write anything, when I started to write M/M Romance and I started to submit to digital publishers, my entire world changed. Although I did eventually publish with Lori, with Ravenous Romance, a publishing company where she's part owner, I actually started submitting my work to Loveyoudivine.com. Within months I was amazed at how much I loved working with digital publishers. The process was basically the same as far as submission and editorial goes. But there wasn't any attitude. E-publishers actually treated authors like human beings. But more than that, I didn't need an agent. I have nothing against agents. It's just nice to know that an author can manage and control his or her own career if he or she so chooses to do this.

The point of this post is about M/M Romance and how it's evolved. In one way that I've seen it evolve is within the blog sphere. I came across a blog last night I didn't know was around. It's called "Chicks & Dicks." The posts are interesting and often come from a POV I don't see very often. Yesterday I read an interesting post written by someone who wanted to see more femme characters in M/M Romance. Being that I know a lot of effeminate gay men of all ages, I wouldn't mind seeing this either. But what I find even more interesting is how blogs like this are helping the entire M/M Romance genre grow and expand into something larger than I ever expected I'd see in my lifetime.

I know there's still a long way to go. But at least we're on the map. I recently posted about an "incident" regarding a group affiliated with RWA and same sex discrimination. I'm not even going to get into that again because I'm more interested in blogs and authors at places like "Chicks & Dicks" who are doing positive things with their lives. I'd rather read something positive than negative any day. And because I know, first hand, how unbelievably difficult it was to even get an ounce of attention or recognition as a gay author not more than ten years ago, I fully appreciate anyone who wants to help promote anything in same sex fiction.

If you're a fan of M/M Romance, check out Chicks & Dicks. You can get there from here.

What Reviews Do We Trust Nowadays?

This morning I posted about Rose Marie Terenzio's memoir, "Fairytale Interrupted." I left five star reviews everywhere for the book. I read other reviews that were far less kind. Evidently, not all agreed with me.

This afternoon I read a review for a different book on a well known romance review web site that was scathing. The reviewer had one of those peculiar names, which is a red flag for me at once. When I can't pronounce a reviewer's name, I tend to trust her less. She reviewed the book with the lowest possible rating, and then went on to rip the book to shreds in what appeared to be a narrative that resembled a short story more than a book review.

I didn't read the book in question. I don't know the author. I was simply perusing. To be completely honest, I DNF the review because as reviews stand it was awful. There is nothing more annoying than a book reviewer who can't get the basics out fast, simple, and neat. I lose patience and interest if a review is too damn long. I would imagine other's feel the same way. Who has the time?

All this aside, after I read the review I went to Amazon to check out reader reviews for the book in question. Huzzah! The largest percentage of customer reviews on Amazon for this book were five star rave reviews. There were a handful of three star reviews. And one or two one star reviews.

This puzzles me deeply. If all these people on Amazon can read a book and give it rave reviews, how am I supposed to take a "professional" book reviewer seriously? Years ago we didn't have any choice. Amazon didn't have customer reviews and we were subjected to the tastes and choices of book reviewers in print periodicals. In other words, the book reviewer's opinion had more influence on our purchases. This isn't the case any longer. We now have to vet reviewers as well as books.

I'm not knocking the book reviewer, not by any means. Even though I think her name is stupid and her review far too long for my taste, I believe it was an honest review and she has every right to her opinion. But that doesn't make it any easier for me as a reader to decide whether or not I might want to buy this book. And, once again, because the review on the "professional" review site was so long and so cutting, I actually decided to buy the book myself thanks to the bad review.

This isn't the first time a bad review has prompted me to buy a book. The author should send this odd name person a small gift. In this case I wasn't even planning on buying the book. But I've learned that some of the worst reviews on some web sites actually mean a book can be quite interesting. And when there are dozens and dozens of rave reviews on Amazon, I'm more than willing to take the chance.

Update on Gay Presidential Hopeful, Fred Karger

The two main reasons I keep posting about Fred Karger is because he's not getting an ounce of mention from the mainstream media and he's making history as the first openly gay Republican making a bid for the Presidency.

I'm not political. I'm not a registered Republican so I couldn't even vote in the Pennsylvania primary if he were on the ballot. But I do think it's important to get the word out that there is someone like Fred Karger Running.

I smile when I say this. I know Fred would never do this. But I wish Fred would take my advice and put on some bright red lipstick and a pair of earrings next time he gives a speech. You can be damn sure he'd get all the attention he needs, and then some. Every single overpaid gonzo journalist, from CNN to Time Magazine, would be running with that story.

Karger Qualifies for California June 5th Ballot
1 of Only 6 Republicans in Nation's Biggest Primary


LAGUNA BEACH, CA – The only Californian running for President this year will be on the ballot in his home state in less than five months. Fred Karger joins remaining five Republicans Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Buddy Roemer in battling for California's 172 delegates.

"I am thrilled to be on my home state's ballot. This makes six states (New Hampshire, Michigan, Maryland and North Carolina) plus Puerto Rico that have included me in their primaries this year. Next week we should find out about New York, and the fact that I am now on California's ballot should help a great deal." said Karger.

"The criteria are similar in all these states. It is based on 'generally recognized presidential candidates.' Now if Fox News, CNN, NBC and the other networks would include me in their future debates, there would be a fresh new moderate candidate among a pretty mediocre field of Republicans. Just let me in one debate."

"It fluctuates, but about 22% of those surveyed about Romney, Gingrich, Paul and Santorum pick 'other.' Well, I am that 'other' Presidential candidate which voters just might like."



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Historic Candidacy

Karger's candidacy and place on multiple state ballots is historic. He is the first openly gay candidate from a major party to run for President. In Karger's first contest - last month in New Hampshire - he beat Congresswoman Michele Bachmann by 135 votes.

"I am extremely grateful to California Secretary of State Debra Bowen for including me on the ballot of the country's most populous state. There are 37 million residents of California and 17 million voters. This sends a powerful message to the entire Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community that you can do anything that you want to do; even run for President of the United States."

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Washington, DC and Michigan

Karger will be attending the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, DC this week and will be in the nation's capital from Wednesday, February 8th to Sunday, February 12th. Then, he will head to back to Michigan until that state's February 28th Primary. There are 11 Republicans on the Michigan ballot, but 5 have dropped out.

Karger's campaign will be based in the capital city of Lansing - located in Michigan's 8th Congressional district. Michigan gives out delegates to whomever wins each Congressional district.

"We're putting our emphasis on the 8th District and going to try and win there. Our new Michigan commercial will be airing next week and we have lots more planned," concluded Karger.


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Secretary of State Releases List of
Presidential Candidates for California Primary

For Link to list, CLICK HERE


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Congratulations to our Friends at the
American Foundation for Equal Rights!!!

Another impressive victory in Federal Court today for equality. Thank you Chad Griffin for your vision and courage. Congratulations to both you and the incredible team that you assembled!


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Does the Print Edition of "Fairytale Interrupted" Have Photos?

Before I begin, I'd like to state that I still stand behind my review of "Fairytale Interrupted," by Rosemarie Terenzio, and I'd still recommend it to anyone looking for a good memoir.

Since I posted my review I've had more than a few e-mails from readers asking about whether or not the e-book version of "Fairytale" has photos. Most bios, memoirs, and auto-bios, do have photos, even the e-book versions. In the past year, I've read one about Julia and Paul Child, which included tons of photos. I've read one about Merv Griffin, with quite a few photos. Even the Steve Jobs bio had tons of photos. In some e-books the photos are inserted into the book and you see them as you read. In others there's a separate section; just like print books. So I know it's done the same way with e-books as it's done with print books.

However, I only saw a few photos in the e-book version of "Fairytale." To be honest, I enjoyed the book so much I didn't even realize this until after I'd read the book. I was too busy with the content to notice. And then I left my reviews and people started to e-mail me about this. I went back and saw that there wasn't a separate section for photos like most e-books. From what I recall, there were a few photos. But not a collection.

My first thought was that Ms. Terenzio either didn't have any photos...I'm bad that way; I have very few photos; I hate to take them, and I can't be bothered...or Ms. Terenzio didn't want to release her personal photos. In many ways, I still get the feeling that she was protecting John Kennedy, just as she did while he was alive, while she was writing this book. Of course since the theme of the book was all about Ms. Terenzio's dedication/loyalty to John Kennedy and George, it made the book even more endearing to me...and tasteful.

But I know a lot of readers want those photos. I'll admit that I like going through them in non-fiction books, too. It was fascinating to see the way Steve Jobs looked as a young man and as an older man. So if anyone has a copy of the print book of "Fairytale Interrupted" out there, please comment and let us know if there are, indeed, photos included in the print version. I'm not the only one who is curious. Or just e-mail me privately and let me know.

I would hate to discover the print version of "Fairytale Interrupted" has a huge section of photos and the e-book doesn't. This would be a huge #publisherfail, and publishers aren't doing a great job with digital books, from pricing to marketing, as it is.

Julian Fantechi: Romance Cover Model

A few years ago I wrote a couple of posts about Julian Fantechi. I got to know him through a series of e-mail exchanges regarding a promotion he was doing.

In short, he's a great guy who works hard at what he does, doesn't have a hint of attitude, and has that rare combination of looks and brains. I've always wanted (dreamed) him on the cover of one of my books. I don't mean this in a sexual way either. I would actually prefer to have him dressed the way he is in the photo above. I think readers love him and he adds another dimension of fantasy and escapism to romance novels in general. But publishers decide these things and I don't have any say in the matter. But if I were to self-publish, finding out what it would take to get Julian on the cover of my book would be one of my top priorities (don't know if he'd be interested or not, and I assume his calendar is booked way in advance...it's a dream).

Here's Julian's official bio on Wiki. Here's a link to where you check check out his videos. I've seen them and liked them. He also has a fan page on FB, right here.

Here's an older interview with Julian, but I think his personality comes through loud and clear. And, this is another good interview, here.

I can't find a web site for him. But his latest project is a commercial for CoxBiz-Midway. Here's the youtube video. If you check out the FB link it will lead to other online information about Julian. I just thought it would be nice to post about him today and revisit a few of my own favorite posts I've written since I started blogging.

Dilly's

I often read gay blogs that focus mainly on the underbelly of gay life. The posts are raunchy and dark, and leave you feeling as if you need a shower after you've read them.

I often read blogs that focus on the sweet, sickening aspects of gay life, where adorable little queens are romping and flitting, with picnic baskets and pink ribbons. If they aren't baking cookies, they are picking out fabric samples.

So I figured, for once, I'd post something different. I normally don't post about anything connected to my personal life. The photo above revolves around an interesting gay man I once knew. His name was Les Dille...I may have the spelling wrong, but the accent in Dille is on the second syllable, Dill-LAY, which made it sound French. Les liked a little drama in his life.

Let's go back in time for a moment. And please remember this is hearsay, stories I've been told. Les opened a gay bar in my town, New Hope, back in the l970's, when New Hope was still a huge gay destination for the NY theater crowd. NH is still a gay destination, but not quite as much as it once was. The gay bar Les opened is still around and going strong. It's had many owners. At one time, there were at least five gay bars withing walking distance of town. One of the recent owners of the bar Les opened was a multimillionaire who owned and ran one of the most successful vitamin companies in the world. When he passed away at the untimely age of 51 in 2008, a group of investors purchased the bar and it still remains, in tact, almost exactly as it was in l970.

When Les sold the bar in the 1970's, he opened a smaller business about five miles north of New Hope, not far from the town of Lumberville, PA. For those who don't know much about the area's history, Julia and Paul Child were married in Lumberville. Pear S. Buck owned a home not far away. The legendary Dorothy Parker owned a home a little further north.
Needless to say, New Hope has always been a tourist destination for weekenders and people who love and appreciate all the arts. Les was a smart businessman and he knew this. So he opened a small custard stand and called it "Dilly's Corner." He did so well with the custard stand he would up starting a side business of buying and selling Rolls Royce's. This was also before my time, but good friends tell me they used to see Les driving up and down Main Street all the time in his Rolls Royce, waving and smiling at passersby.

When I drove past Dilly's corner earlier this afternoon, I took the photo and put it on foursquare. When I saw how much I liked it, I decided to write a small post about it. Les doesn't live in the area anymore. But his first lover still does. I know him well. I spent New Year's Day with him and his partner, along with other friends. Of course the conversation turned to the old days and they started talking about what New Hope used to be like, especially with regard to gay men.

Though I didn't get to experience this time period, what I am experiencing right now is just as valid. And I wanted to write a post that wasn't pumped up with hype or politics. I didn't want to write about the underbelly of gay life, where gay men lurk in dark corners for sexual encounters, risking their lives and their health. I didn't want to write about rainbows, unicorns, and gay men baking chocolate chip cookies either. I wanted to write about something real, in this condensed version, that doesn't get as much attention as it should.[image error]

Do All Gay Men Like the Same Kind of Entertainment?

This afternoon a good friend of mine e-mailed me with a question. The question was asked by a straight friend of hers.

I thought it was a great question, and innocent, too. No names, but I'm copying verbatim. This friend of my friend e-mailed her with this:

I have a question for you and I feel that you will not be insulted that I ask.We saw the Liza Minnelli show last evening and I couldn't help but notice that the audience was made up of mostly or many gay men. I noticed that before for other singers and I do know that gay men loved Judy Garland as well. What is it that attracts them to certain singers? It is the sad life she leads, her love songs, what is it? I wouldn't see that for Bob Dylan, Joan Baez or some others I like.
Yes for Bette Midler ----

My friend replied this way (in all caps because she isn't the best typist):

I'M NOT INSULTED AT ALL. I'M A LESBIAN, NOT A GAY MAN! HA!
SERIOUSLY, IT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION AND WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS COPY A FEW OF MY GAY MEN FRIENDS AND ASK THEM TO RESPOND TO ME.
I'LL FORWARD THEIR ANSWERS TO YOU AND THEN I'LL RESPOND AS WELL.

How other guys will answer, I don't know. But this is how I replied:

Personally, I would rather be forced to eat dirt than listen to show tunes, piano bar, Judy, Barbra, or Liza. I like them occasionally, but I'd never pay to see them...or anything associated with them. This includes anything even associated with a Broadway Show or any form of musical theater.

However, I listen to rap music when I'm alone, mostly. I listen to hard rock when I'm alone. I LOVE Bob Dylan and Joan Baez!!

I'm sure my friend will copy me with more replies from other gay men. I would imagine some will reply very differently than I did and I'll post a few answers next week to show the differences.