Ryan Field's Blog, page 579

December 26, 2010

How Real Should Gay Fiction Be?

A friend of mine who is just starting out in the gay fiction genre e-mailed me last week about a review he'd received on goodreads.com. This is his first book, and probably his first bad review. (Seriously, it wasn't pretty at all.) And let's face it, all authors who have been around for a while know and expect at least several scathing reader reviews on web sites like goodreads.com. This falls under the category of you just can't please everyone no matter how hard you try. And sometimes it also falls under the category of what can I learn from the comments in this review as an author.

I tried to explain this to my friend, to help him understand there's nothing an author can do to avoid receiving scathing reviews. I told him one thing that always helps is to check out the reviews for well sold mainstream fiction authors, like John Irving and Anne Tyler, and read how a few readers have trashed their books. Because if someone has a problem with books that the majority of the public loves...especially Pulitzer Prize winning books...there's usually a problem with that particular reader, not the book or the author.

But when my friend explained to me that he was mostly upset about how this particular reader reacted to his portrayal of gay men in relationships, and the dynamics and the way gay men relate to each other, I wasn't sure what to tell him. He said the review questioned his personal experience as a gay man, and he said the reader who gave him the review was a woman who reads gay fiction as a hobby. And rather than read with an open mind about what it's really like to be gay, she trashed his book because she wanted some type of fantasy about what she thinks being gay is supposed to be like. Again, I was at a loss for words.

My friend was also insulted, on a social and a political level. He said no one would ever dare to question the experiences of any other author writing about the experiences of a specific minority. And I told him he wasn't totally correct. Though readers seem more comfortable attacking the lgbt experience, other minority authors experience the same thing from time to time. I have, indeed, seen a prolific author who writes about the Asian experience, from his own personal background, and readers actually had the audacity to question his personal experiences. I've read mean reviews that said his book wasn't authentic, and these reviews were written by people who probably know very little about Asian culture.

Ultimately, my friend wanted to know how real gay fiction should be. And there's only one way to answer that: you do what you think is best, based on your own personal experiences and from observing the experiences of other gay people you know. In fiction, there's a certain amount of fantasy and poetic license you can get away with, but the basics have to be authentic. Nine out of ten readers will get it and thank you for it. And that one lone reader who writes a snarky review won't be taken seriously. If anything, from what I've observed by reading countless numbers of reviews for books in varying genres, that one lone reviewer usually winds up looking like an amateur.
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Published on December 26, 2010 08:33

December 24, 2010

December 23, 2010

Ode to a Blog Titled: "Eirik's Mind"

When I first started my own blog, after years of interviewing personal bloggers for bestgayblogs.com, I wasn't sure whether or not I'd like blogging. Though I'd always loved reading blogs and getting to know other bloggers, I wasn't sure about doing it myself. Writing fiction isn't like blogging. In many ways, they are complete opposites. But I had to decide on whether or not I wanted a formal web site, or an informal blog, and I chose blogging.

At first, I wasn't sure what to post about. Old blogging buddies, like Ryan Stratton, helped me a lot. I watched how easily they posted, and it gave me more confidence. It wasn't long before I started to meet other bloggers and build online friendships.

The one thing I learned while I was interviewing bloggers was that blogs come and go. Some stay around for a long time, but many just die off and disappear for various reasons. But there's one blog in particular, "Eirik's Mind," that touched my heart and kept me captive. Eirik blogged about his personal life in a way many bloggers don't (I know I don't). At this exact time last year, he was dealing with cancer, going through different therapies, and fighting for his life. But I loved everything about his blog. His voice was strong, his posts were artistic in a natural way, and he seemed to be so articulate about his feelings and his emotions.

I'm talking about Eirik's blog in the past tense because he stopped posting in January this year. In the past eleven months, I've left comments there, asking him how he was doing. But he hasn't answered them. The blog is still up and I'm still linked to him. I go there several times a week, hoping I'll see a new post. But each time I go, as each month passes, I start to worry I might not see another post.

For now, I'm hoping Eirik grew bored with blogging and just decided not to continue. I'm picturing him happy and healthy, with too much going on in his life to blog. But whatever the case may be, and wherever he may be right now, I'd like to thank him for opening up his life to all his readers and showing them what it's really like to appreciate life.

If you don't have time to follow the link I added, here's an excerpt from Eirik's last post.

Ode to Cancer
Don't be afraid.
I'm going to hurt you good.
Up against the wall;Nails across my back.
Pleasure and Pain,There is no escape.
It's all the same.
It ain't no game.
So turn up the heat;Get a grip –
It's going to get rough.
It's no dream,No waking up.
It's okay to scream.
Let it all out.
No escape.
It's down and dirty.
So, get on your knees and pray.
I'm your victim;You'll be mine.
You torment me,
Give me your best shot,
Is that your best you got?
That weak ass shit ain't gonna cut it.
Torture me.
I'll torture you,You won't see it coming.
I know your games,I know your ways.
You won't win.
I'm going to hurt you good.
So give me your best.
I'll pass every test.
I'm gonna kill you slow.
So, don't be afraid.
There is no escape.
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Published on December 23, 2010 10:29

December 22, 2010

Well Hung By The Chimney


Below is an excerpt from my novella, The Christmas Gift, in WELL HUNG BY THE CHIMNEY. I don't think this excerpt has been published before, and I like to give readers a larger sample of what they might be thinking of buying. I gave the publisher's link this time, but you can also find it on amazon, allromaneebooks, and fictionwise. I recommend these because this is where I usually by my own books and don't have any problems.

This excerpt is from a scene in the book where the two main characters are about to travel to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with the one main character's ex-wife and daughter.

They weren't going to Southern Florida. Verna lived near her mother and father's retirement community, in small town near the Georgia border called Calhoun, and they would have had plenty of time to relax if they'd spent the night at a hotel. But Lance had an almost military attitude about travel and organization and sticking to schedules, thanks to his training with the state police. The only problem was Nathan wasn't used to punching a clock and following a schedule of any kind. As far as he was concerned, normal people were supposed to be coming home at two in the morning, not waking up.

So he slogged out of bed and rubbed his eyes. When he switched on the bathroom lights, Lance shouted from the kitchen. "Good, you're awake. I made coffee and I'm going down to start loading the car."

Nathan scratched his balls and yawned. "Okay," he said, trying to lift his voice and sound pleasant. "I'm just going to take a quick shower and get dressed." He'd packed his bags the night before, on Lance's recommendation. Lance said it would be easier than packing in the morning. He'd been right, too. Nathan was so groggy he had trouble pointing his dick toward the toilet bowl. If he'd waited to pack in this condition, he wouldn't have known what he was shoving into the suitcase.

And hour later, they were on the road and heading south in Lance's Ford Explorer. At first, Nathan sipped his coffee from a stainless steel container and tried to make conversation. It was too dark to watch the scenery pass by and the only music they could find on the radio was either country western or rap. So Nathan gave up on the radio and told Lance he'd been thinking about opening a doughnut shop instead of a cookie shop. He said he was worried cookies might not sell as well as doughnuts, and he didn't want this to be one of those bored housewife businesses where they didn't care whether they made money or not. Nathan needed this business to create an income, and there were no doughnut shops at all in Martha Falls. It was a quirky little down in some respects. But in a good way. Unlike so many other flatly landscaped towns along strips of road in the south, Martha Falls frowned upon letting corporate chain stores into the area. If Nathan had heard it once, he'd heard it a million times from people who either lived in or visited Martha Falls: "Boy I wish there was a Dunkin Doughnut or a Krispy Kreme around here."

Lance just nodded and listened, focusing on the road. He was one of those relaxed drivers who sat all the way back, with his legs spread and only one hand on the wheel. But he rarely took his eyes off the road for a second.

"I could even do a line of specialty coffees to go along with the doughnuts," Nathan said, as they passed a long truck with a yellow and blue sign that read, "Mountain Sunshine," wondering what exactly Mountain Sunshine was.

"I thought you loved to bake cookies," Lance said.

"I do," Nathan said. "But I want to make money, too. And as far as I can see it, Martha Falls could use a doughnut shop more than a gourmet cookie shop. It's a simple town, with simple people. I want something that's community oriented and something people need, not something I personally love."

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Published on December 22, 2010 16:41

Speaking of Edits...


I swear this all happened last night because the previous post I wrote discussed the relationship between editors and authors.

I'm talking about a new stand alone short story that's coming out soon titled, BILLABONG BANG, with a Jan. 14 release date. It's sort of a coming of age story and the character has two fears: one is sexual and the other is a phobia of water. But I also just had a short story released in a SEX AND TOYS anthology this week with ravenousromance.com (I usually post a cover photo, but this one, although I totally love it, might be too steamy for a pg rated blog), and that story also has a character who is dealing with a sexual phobia and a fear of heights. The differences are vast, especially when it comes to the sexual phobia's themselves. But I didn't want the new stand alone to even remotely resemble the short story in the anthology, so I've been going back and forth with my editor at Loveyoudivine.com all week making sure it doesn't.

And last night she sent me a preliminary pdf file of the book and I almost said, "great, let's go with this." But I stopped and thought for a moment. There was still something bothering me about this book and I had to get it right. First, I thought there was too much back story in the beginning. Second, the main character is of African descent and I thought I'd gone into too much of a description about this. Personally, I believe the only way to get rid of racism altogether is to start thinking and seeing with colorblind eyes. And while it's important to put something in that describes the character's race sometimes, there's no need to be too obvious about it. At least that's how I view it. Someone else might disagree.

Ultimately, this fix was simple. I just cut the first 1,000 words from the story, made two line changes, and sent the revise back to my editor...with a few huge apologies, and many thanks. Could the story have gone to publication as it was? Certainly. But would the readers have been bored to death with the first few pages? Absolutely.

And my wonderful editor, Dalia, didn't say a word. She made the changes, sent me the pdf early this morning, and it looks ready to move now. This, to me, is the perfect example of a positive working relationship between author and editor. It's back and forth, give and take. And even though most books and stories don't have as many complications as BILLABONG BANG did, it always nice to know that if there are they can be worked out well.
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Published on December 22, 2010 07:25

December 21, 2010

Something I learned This Year...Thanks to Toni Morrison

I know everyone is busy writing end of the year posts, and this might not be the kind of post that falls under that category. But I'm always interested in anything that has to do with books and publishing. And for me, personally, I learned something interesting that I'd like to share with other authors and readers.

In almost twenty years of publishing I am proud to admit that I've only had one incident where I didn't agree with an editor and pulled the story from publication. It happened about five years ago, with a short story I'd submitted to a print publisher for possible inclusion. The odd thing was I'd worked with this editor before on other books and I thought I knew him. However, when the story came back and I had to review his edits, I was amazed at how much he'd cut, how many words he'd changed, and how he'd slanted the entire story in an entirely different direction. Ultimately, we couldn't reach a compromise and I politely asked him to pull the story from the anthology. Three days later, I sold the same story to another print publisher and they didn't edit a single word. They copy edited a few things, removed a couple of commas and removed a few superfluous words. But the story remained in tact. And, I eventually went on to work on something else with the first editor, and all was fine.

Since then, I haven't had any other problems and don't anticipate any. I love all the editors and copy editors I work with. I've always viewed their changes and suggestions as assets to my books or stories. And I've always agreed with them when they suggested minor changes. In many ways, working with an editor and copy editor is a collaboration between author and editor. It's fun, we joke around a lot, and the e-mails keep flying back and forth. And if both remain open to all suggestions, the final edit of the book or story only gets better.

Then one morning this year I opened an e-mail with copy edits for a book I'd submitted a month earlier. In this case, I wasn't worried. I'd always worked with a specific copy editor for this particular publisher and I'd always looked forward to reading her edits. In fact, I've learned a lot more from her, I'm sure, than she's learned from me. But when I started reading the edits this time, I knew from page one something was different. And I knew this wasn't my beloved copy editor, whom I'd always loved working with. This was someone new, with a snarky voice, who didn't seem familiar with any of my books...or books in my genre. There were remarks and questions in the margins I normally don't receive from my usual editor. One particular word that was integral to the book that I thought should have been capitalized throughout the book had been changed to lower case.

I always try to research as much as I can and I try never to assume anything, and I'd already researched this particular word the new copy editor had changed and found that readers, magazines, and most other publishers believe, very strongly in most cases, this particular word should be capitalized. So I went through all the edits with an eagle eye this time, addressed each comment and question. I made a few of the suggested changes and refused to alter a few other suggested changes. I was polite when I refused to take the suggestions. I used little smile faces. I've always believed it's important to be a professional as possible, and still get the point across.

When I submitted my review of the edits (actually, she'd missed a few important copy edits I'd had to go back and fix myself), I was told the word would not be capitalized and given a good, solid reason. This was the only area where the publisher wouldn't back down, and I didn't mind at all. This particular word can be capped or not capped, depending on the style a particular publisher uses. And, though I personally would have preferred the word to be capitalized for the sake of the readers, I didn't have a problem agreeing with the publisher this time. And, the publisher agreed with all my other replies to the copy edits. So I was fine; the publisher was fine; a compromise had been reached.

But, I couldn't stop thinking about one particular phrase the new copy editor had questioned and I'd refused to change. I'd used this phrase in a steamy romantic scene in the book and the copy editor didn't think it was real enough. She even went as far to say, "I don't think there is such a thing." I'd used this phrase before in other books. It's about as minor a phrase as "The back of his neck." But I disagreed, politely, with the new copy editor and refused to make the change on principle. But then started to question my own instincts the next day. Did the snarky new copy editor know better? Should I have agreed to make that particular change? At that point, though, I didn't want to confuse anyone and decided to leave it alone.

The other night I sat down to read Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. I'm a huge fan (she's one of the few authors I'd bow to...lol) of her work and I hadn't read this particular book in years (if you haven't read this classic, run out and get it). By that time, the edits from my own book were way in the back of my mind and I was only interested in reading about the sad life of Pecola Breedlove in The Bluest Eye. And then I came across a very touching scene that involved sex, where Toni Morrison used the exact same phrase to describe a particular body part that the new copy editor had questioned in my book. I put The Bluest Eye down and stared for a few minutes. I'd come across this phrase before in other books, but never by an author with Toni Morrison's excellent reputation. And then I took a deep breath and smiled. I realized that if Toni Morrison can get away with using this phrase in a book like The Bluest Eye, so can I.

And I learned something new this year: trust your own instincts when it comes to edits and revises. No writer does anything by accident, especially when it comes to certain words and phrases. Although some copy editors think they know it all, they don't. I know I'm only talking about a phrase that was a simple as, "The back of his neck." And it could have been changed without altering the intent of my book. But I didn't think a copy editor, who probably has about eighteen years less experience than I have, should have even questioned it in the first place, at least not in such a bold way. Of course I didn't do it...but I felt like sending her a copy of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye just to prove a point.
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Published on December 21, 2010 07:47

December 20, 2010

A Little Holiday Cheer...


Actually, I think there's a lot to cheer about in this photo. And if you don't think so, this isn't the blog for you. I was just over at Paul Richmond's blog and shamelessly pilfered it. In case you don't know, Paul is a talented artist and he's designed some of the best book covers in m/m fiction since Peter Max hit the pop culture scene tons of years ago. Check out the blog here, and the cheerful photo to the left is just one of many in his latest blog post. If you're a m/m reader or writer and this guy doesn't muse you (hope muse works in this sentence; could be replaced with amuse just as well) it might be time to start reading children's books.
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Published on December 20, 2010 16:06

Next New Release: BILLABONG BANG


This short stand alone should be released about the first of the year. But here's a sneak preview of the cover. I'm looking forward to it because it's been in the making since last May. One of my editors went through a personal family crisis and we put this book aside for a while. I thought it was better to just set it aside and let her get to it when she was ready to work again. And I'm glad I did. It was worth the wait. Good editors aren't always easy to find, which is something I'll post about very soon (smile).
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Published on December 20, 2010 12:20

December 18, 2010

Chris Paris-Lamb: Literary Agent with Much to Say

For those who are either seeking representation or trying to get published for the first time, I found a great article, here, through another publishing blog, about a new young literary agent named Chris Paris-Lamb.

What I like best about what I read is that he spends a good deal of his time going after new authors instead of picking through query letters and wading through the slush pile. I do, however, think he's still very young and has a great deal to learn about publishing. In the past twenty years, I know enough to read between the lines and I can smell the color green for miles. I also have a best friend who is a successful NY agent and I've learned a lot just by sitting and listening.

But in all fairness, I do, indeed, think Mr. Paris-Lamb is the new breed of literary agent. And one of the reasons I believe this is because he, like so many other young agents out there, isn't going about business in the traditional way. He's aggressive and knows what he's looking for. He also seems to understand that authors will always need agents, just as agents will always need authors.

And if I were a new writer just starting out today, I don't think I'd spend as much time writing queries as I would writing fiction and trying to get it pubbed so I could build writing credits and get more exposure. Publishing isn't just one tiny little cube, where everything fits just so. There are many facets and new doors are opening up all the time.
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Published on December 18, 2010 16:54

Repeal of DADT: End of an Era

Today, in a 65-31 vote, the Senate ended the ban of gays and lesbians in the military. In my latest book, which hasn't even been released yet, I focused on a theme that revolved around DADT and gays in the military, and kept thinking all the way through the book whether or not I'd see a repeal in my lifetime. It didn't look good for a long time. It's still almost too good to be true and I'm almost waiting for some kind of a catch...like what happened with Proposition 8 in California.

But for now DADT has been repealed, and it looks like it's going to stick, ending one of the most discriminatory laws this country has ever seen.

For more information, Andrea Stone has written a full piece, here.
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Published on December 18, 2010 16:19