Kaje Harper's Blog, page 41

Spam, silliness, and robot translators

My online blog gets a fair bit of spam. I usually scan it before erasing it all, to make sure no genuine comments got caught in the filter. This time I was in a silly mood, and couldn't help giggling at the wording of so many of them. So I decided to record some here for posterity and my own amusement.

I do want to emphasize, To all you real flesh-and-blood humans for whom English is a second/third/on up language, I appreciate your real posts and genuine contacts and hope no one feels this is directed at them. Every one of these came from a commercial site too darned lazy to hire someone like you who has made the effort to learn a second language. These are the work of computer programs and online translations.

These comments came from sites with names like face wash for oily skin; Sales Training; Printable Swiffer coupons ; internet marketing company ; stretch mark therapy ; Louis Vuitton Monogram ; best exercise to lose weight fast

Here's a representative sample

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(posted by best exercise to lose weight fast) Prolong the sex as aerobic exercise?

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*I usually do not leave a bunch of comments, but after reading through a few of the responses on this page Intervention kajeharper. I actually do have a couple of questions for you if it’s allright. Is it simply me or do some of these comments appear like they are coming from brain dead visitors? And, if you are writing at additional online sites, I’d like to keep up with you. Could you post a list of every one of all your social community pages like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?
(This posted on every single page. I guess a lot of my fans look brain dead? )

*Thank you for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do some research about this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I’m very glad to see such excellent info being shared freely out there.
(posted by growth supplements) Which body part are we trying to grow?

*Bonsoir chers lecteurs que pensez-vous de mon nouveau site sur l’immobilier et son actualité ?
(“Hello fellow readers, what do you think about my new site on real estate and its current state”... or something like that, my French is a little rusty.) - this one shows up weekly

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(posted by osteoarthritis treatment) Maybe sex is good for the joints as well as weight loss.

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I dread to think what I am teaching Tanya.

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(This is almost scary – my post is pleasant for debt collectors?)

And just in case I was getting a swelled head with all the “Great Post” comments:
*The very next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me around this. What i’m saying is, I know it was my replacement for read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to convey. All I hear is a lot of whining about something that you could fix in the event you werent too busy searching for attention.

The verdict – do not under any circumstances use an online translation service to put foreign words in your work, unless you want it for a laugh.

April...

No April Fool's stuff here. I'm the kind of person who is really glad when this falls on a Sunday, because practical jokes are so not my thing. (Now verbal jokes... those definitely.)

The middle of this week will be the one-year anniversary of the release of my first self-pubbed book. I'm debating how to celebrate that. (OK, who was it just said I should post a free story??? Well, maybe. Although my beta readers are swamped and won't have time to review it for me. So only maybe.)

I will be blogging on Chicks & Dicks on April 4th about the themes of Out-For-You and Gay-For-You in M/M romance. That topic has been on my mind since the release of The Rebuilding Year as I watch readers' reviews come out and see that they are all over the map on that subject. It was great of Taylor Donovan and her co-bloggers to offer me their venue for my thoughts. You might wander over there on Wednesday and check it out.

So much has happened in a year. Much of it strange and wonderful beyond my expectations. I'll have to give some thought to exactly how to tell you all about it. In the meantime, may the practical jokes all befall people you want to see come down a peg. And may the Spring (or Fall for those Down Under) be a joyful one for you all.

Unexpected Demands - Hidden Wolves book 2 released

Well it was a close call, because a formatting problem temporarily took all the italics out of the page proofs for Unexpected Demands. But thanks to the hard work of MLR's formatting editor, Kris, it came back together. The book is now live on the MLR Press website here. And it will soon be out on Amazon, ARe and other vendors. I hope readers who liked Unacceptable Risk will enjoy this new look at my werewolves. If you are new to this series, I would advise you to start with the first book. I hope if you do, you will find yourself coming back for this one.

Now I have to head back to my WWII novella work in progress, since the deadline is coming fast. I'm struggling a bit with keeping it as plausible as possible on historical, Naval, and emotional fronts. But I'm fortunate to have several volunteers who will give me advice on parts of the puzzle. With their help I'll make this new story as real as I can. It's been great fun to write.

And it will keep me nicely distracted while I wait to find out what readers think of Aaron and his pack in Unexpected Demands.

A Release Date

After a tough week dealing with my mother's advancing Alzheimer's, I got a spot of good news today. Unexpected Demands is back from formatting. The official release date will be Friday March 23rd.

Conventional wisdom says it's not good to release two novels so close together. But I've been waiting a while for this one. I say to heck with conventional wisdom. If some readers want to take a break from my writing between my books, that's fine. Unexpected Demands won't melt or disappear. I'm just happy to let this puppy out into the light.

After all, I have plenty of other stories to concentrate on as I move forward from here. Home Work - Life Lessons #3 is starting the editing process next. And my freebie for the M/M Romance group is due in mid-April. Hoarding stories for perfectly timed releases is just destined to be one of the things I don't do. Thank you to all the readers who haven't required business skills from me, and who appear happy just to let me spin my stories at will.

Thank You

So The Rebuilding Year released on Tuesday, and I watched with a mixture of delight and disbelief as it moved up Amazon's Best Sellers in Gay & Lesbian Genre Fiction. Until around 24 hours after release, it briefly hit #1. Wow.

At that time the book had no reviews on Amazon, although I was deeply appreciative of the two that had come out on Reviews by Jessewave. (So glad that the threatened "dueling reviews" turned out to be both positive.) Still, to move that fast, most people were buying the book based on very little information, simply because I wrote it and they trusted me to give them a good story. That's... amazing, heartwarming, and a little scary.

I try not to write the same book over and over. So this one is slower, less dramatic, bi-for-you (or gay-for-you) and family oriented. It's not as much of a mystery as the blurb suggests. (There's a downside to having a publisher with a professional blurb-writer - I guess they like to emphasize the drama. Although it may well help sales so it has pros as well as cons.) The mystery is a backdrop to the personal story. Hopefully most of the people who buy it will like it and find it worth the read. Inevitably, some won't. That's been true of anything I ever wrote - not one book without some two-star reviews. That's life. (I like remembering that's true even for The Lord of the Rings.)

It's a little more salient, though, when people are buying my work based mainly on my previous skills. The desire not to disappoint is sharper, I guess. I am fascinated to see the early reviews, what worked and what didn't, for readers. (Sometimes it was the same thing, a positive or a negative for two different viewpoints.)

I wanted to just say thanks here, for showing your faith in my writing by grabbing this book so quickly. And for all the thoughtful reviews that are already popping up, that will help other readers decide if this one is for them or not. The readers in this m/m romance community have been wonderful, articulate, and supportive in a way I never expected. As a writer, you guys just blow me away. Thank you.

The Rebuilding Year - released

My contemporary m/m romance, The Rebuilding Year, is now available from Samhain Publishing here. This is a great time to buy directly from the publisher since Samhain is offering the book with a new-release discount.

If you want to see a review first, there is one on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews and another although with **mild spoilers** on Joyfully Jay.

If you decide to give this novel a try, I hope you enjoy meeting John and Ryan and watching them discover each other.

Giveaway, Interview, and waiting

Just a few updates as I wait for the release of The Rebuilding Year on Tuesday. For those who would like to score a free copy of the book, there is a draw running on Stumbling Over Chaos which will be open for you to enter until Monday evening. Even if you don't want to take a shot at a free copy, you should check out this site. Chris and her cats do a lot of free book draws, insightful short reviews of m/m stories, M/M links, crafts, cute cat pics,and a totally hilarious feature called Misadventures in Stock Photography. In this feature Chris's eagle eye tracks down reuse of the same stock guy pictures in multiple book covers (and she is amazingly good at spotting them.)

For those who don't already know it, most small publishers do not take their own pictures for photo covers. They use the same stock photo sites, buy the rights to pictures and photoshop them. This means that a hot guy on a stock site can show up in many ways and with many partners. Chris has a real knack for finding and displaying them in all their gorgeousness and absurdity for us. Go, enjoy, and maybe win a book.

In other personal news, I was invited to do an author interview on Books and Tales. I was delighted to find that it has been posted in time to preface the release of The Rebuilding Year. So if you are interested in my thoughts on writing and a few personal details, go check it out.

Hidden Wolves 2 - Unexpected Demands has just popped up in my email, after languishing in proofreading for a few weeks. As soon as I'm done here I will be turning it back around for formatting, the last step, so hopefully we are getting close to release. I was going to blog about the project I've been tackling while waiting. But since the manuscript is back, I'll leave that for another time, and go get Aaron on his way. Mustn't keep an Alpha waiting.

I hate to say it ... Wolves 2 is delayed, but here's an excerpt

Early this week I still had illusions that I would see Unexpected Demands back from formatting in time for release in February, but that's clearly not going to happen. Formatting is the last stage for the manuscript, but everything has been going more slowly for this book. I think MLR's recent growth as a publisher, while nice to see, has added some backlog for the editorial staff. And since I want them to continue to do the good quality job that they have given me in the past, I'll live with that.

So I apologize to anyone who is waiting for this one. I'm sure you all have more than enough excellent books on your TBR lists to fill the time. (I know I do!) I will let you know as soon as I have a release date. It could be as early as March 2, but more likely the 9th and possibly later (aargh.) I do like the fact that MLR doesn't keep a book waiting around once it it ready to go, but the uncertainty is the downside.

The Rebuilding Year will release on March 6th from Samhain, so that may actually precede it. Look for a couple of contests to win a free copy of The Rebuilding Year in the next 10 days - I'll give more specifics soon.

And to make up for the delay, here's an excerpt from

Unexpected Demands - Hidden Wolves Book 2

Chapter 1

I’m running through the woods, full out on four legs, over leaves so dry they crumble beneath me. The air is still and hot, summer’s last breath. I’m not running for my life. If he catches me, it will be death for one of us, but the death might be his. He’s old now, his hair streaked with grey as a man, his wolf’s muzzle frosted white. A senior, a veteran who never quite made Alpha, and bitter with it. He taught me well; in my desperate fury I might take him. But if I do, I’m not sure I’ll be sane afterward. I can feel the black abyss hovering, an emotionless darkness where I could go and let my wolf take over. My wolf wouldn’t hesitate. Hatred runs hot and acid in my throat and only iron control keeps me from turning to finish this. I’m running for my soul, and there are heavy footfalls coming fast through the dry leaves behind me…

Shit.

I gave myself a quick smack to the head. The gesture was juvenile, but there was no one else in the room with me, and it jolted me back to the present. Bad enough that the nightmares had invaded my sleep again, claiming the few hours I allowed myself. It was unfair of them to sneak up on me when I was awake. Well, nominally awake.

I let myself have a moment, put my head in my hands and just closed my eyes. Breathe, for one moment don’t think and just breathe. I’d taught myself meditation long ago, for relaxation, for control when control was the difference between life and death. I used it now to gather energy. I was tired. Make that fucking exhausted.

Of course I was also angry, and frustrated, and worried. And admit it, Aaron David Tremaine, scared. Actually, you could take one of those charts from school, the name-your-emotions ones with the silly faces, and just put a check next to all the negatives, and that would pretty much sum up my current state.

And don’t forget the one that’s not on any kids’ chart: horny. After thirteen years of locking my need away where it couldn’t influence me, that one tumultuous night a week ago had brought it roaring back to life, worse than ever. And it wasn’t even a night when I got any sex.

Maybe being tired was good. It took the edge off all the rest.

I rubbed my face briskly, sat up in my chair, and laid my hands flat on the desk. This was no time for indulging myself. When you’re the Alpha of a werewolf pack, even a pack as small and non-traditional as mine, you have to be Alpha. No doubts, no worries, at least where the lower-ranked wolves can see you. I’d been faking that all week, ever since pack leadership had fallen into my hands.

Since I ripped it from Karl’s bleeding body.

A rap on the door startled me, and then the door was flung open before I could respond. Vincent looked in. His normal air of detached amusement was replaced with a frown. “Aaron, there’s trouble at Simon’s.”

“Damn.” I was up and moving. “Do you know who or how many?”

“Nope.”

“Who’s on guard duty?”

“Andy.”

“Son-of-a-bitch.” It was only a figure of speech. There are no female werewolves. If there were, maybe we’d have a much more relaxed attitude about sex and reproduction, and this whole mess wouldn’t be happening. I didn’t mean it as an insult to Andy either. He was just the wrong person to be on deck for any kind of trouble. Young, submissive, and easy-going, Andy had the softest personality of any of my wolves. And if anyone had hurt him and I caught up to them, they were going to be eating through a straw for a month, werewolf healing or not.

“Do you want me with you?” Vincent asked eagerly. That old wolf had been a surprise addition to my pack. I hadn’t expected any of the seniors to come my way. He had appointed himself my secretary, and was so useful I had no desire to depose him, even though secretly I thought he decided to be mine mainly out of boredom. Joining my pack gave him a ringside seat at the circus. Some people were not made for retirement.

But Vincent wasn’t above stirring up a little extra excitement, just to see what happened. Which was the last thing I needed. “No. Stay here. Call Joshua and tell him I’m about to come down on some wolf of his. Again.”

Vincent made a face, but did as I asked. A chance to fight versus making an unwelcome call to the no doubt pissed-off Alpha of a different pack: it was a good thing Vincent accepted my authority. I left him to it.

Simon owned a small house with a white-fenced yard. It was far enough from the neighbors for privacy, which was turning out to be a good thing. When I pulled in the driveway, four men were standing on the front steps. On the bottom step, in a dark parka and boots, stood a stocky, brown-haired man with a reddened face. He looked in his mid-thirties, but I knew he was sixty-six. I also knew he was short-tempered, right-handed, of average intelligence, and he was as violently homophobic as they come. Daniel. Shit.

A few steps behind him was a man who might have been his clone, but for the lighter hair and eyes: Geoffrey. He had been eighth ranked in our old pack, and was now Joshua’s Third, and not a stupid man. But he was cold, and calculating, and had no love for any wolf of mine.

At the top of the steps stood my two men. Andy was dressed for the weather, his hands in leather gloves, clenched into fists, the hood of his jacket pushed back to give him a full range of vision. His breath streamed out in puffs of white, and I could practically taste his fear, but he held his ground. Behind him, oblivious to having bare feet on the frozen porch, Simon was still as stone. Short but wide, built like a fighter with muscles rippling under his copper skin, Simon was not a wolf to take on lightly. A fact Daniel apparently acknowledged, since he was still at the bottom of those stairs.

They all swung their heads to look at me as I got out of the car. Andy’s posture relaxed immediately. I winced inwardly at his faith in his Alpha, even as I appreciated it.

Simon held his ground, unmoving. But then he had his lover, Paul, in that house behind him. No one was getting through Simon to come close to Paul. And he trusted no one, not even me, to take that responsibility from him.

“Geoffrey,” I said coolly. “Daniel.”

“This is none of your affair, Tremaine,” Daniel snapped. I noted that Geoff was holding back, and letting the lower wolf speak up. Interesting.

“Of course it is. My wolves, my problem. Want to tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m here to challenge that…that…thing that you’re letting walk around like he’s as good as the rest of us.” Daniel pointed a finger at Simon. I took into account the slight tremble that was due to rage, not fear. Stupid of him to underestimate Simon, but that was Daniel.

“In the first place,” I told him, “You can’t. He’s not in your pack now. You want to take on one of my wolves, you have to face me first. And I don’t think you want to do that.” I glared at him, and it took less than two seconds for him to drop his eyes. I might have been only a few ranks ahead of him in the old pack, but I was an Alpha now, and his body knew that even better than his brain. “In the second place, Simon would wipe the floor with you, if I let him.”

“Bullshit,” Daniel blustered. “He’s nothing. Stinking faggot. He’s bowed his head to me a hundred times.”

“Because he chose to. Think, you fool. Simon beat Frank in a fair fight. Frank!” The big tawny wolf had been our Fourth, and a vicious fighter. In the scrambling events of that night, when I killed Karl and everything had changed, perhaps the biggest surprise had been Simon rising victorious from Frank’s body. I had known he was holding back, hiding in the middle of the pack. I hadn’t realized how much.

The memory of that night flitted across Daniel’s face too, and he paled a shade, but he wasn’t the kind to ever back down. “Bullshit,” he repeated. “I can take him.”

I turned a calm eye to Geoffrey, who was watching us both. “Is this challenge sanctioned by your Alpha?”

Geoff shook his head. “I don’t believe he ran it by Joshua first. But he does have a complaint.”

More than the standard gay werewolves are the spawn of Satan and should be destroyed?

“What complaint?”

“My house!” Daniel sputtered. “Someone took orange spray paint and wrote things on my house!”

I turned an inadvertent snort into a cough. Not funny, not funny. “What things?”

Daniel’s face had regained its red hue. “Words. Insults. And he did it.” He turned to glare at Simon again. “You know he did. Cowardly, sneaking around, afraid to face me. He wrecked my house!” He made a lunge up the stairs.

I grabbed his arm, and swung him around to face me. “Shut up and stand down,” I hissed, with all the menace I could put into it. Apparently it was enough, because he sagged like all the air had leaked out of him. “I will look into this, and if your property was damaged, I’ll see that you get compensation from the guilty party. But it wasn’t Simon. I’ve had men watching him for his protection all week.” I gestured at Andy. “Simon didn’t do anything to you. So go home, and let your Alpha deal with this. Unless you’d rather challenge me?”

He didn’t even try to meet my eyes. “No, Alpha.”

“Go.” I gave him a shove toward his parked car.

From where he stood watching, Geoff said, “Maybe it wasn’t Simon this time. But your pack’s out of control. You’re only asking for trouble, letting this go on. Follow the law, get rid of the human who knows about us, deal with your fag, and then we can live in peace again.”

“Over my dead body,” I said coldly.

“Perhaps.” Geoff looked me up and down, then shifted his gaze to Simon, and to Andy still trying to look tough and protective. When Geoff turned back to me his lip was curled in a sneer, although he couldn’t quite meet my eyes. “Perhaps someone will take you down, and then deal with this…perversion… the way it should be handled.”

“But not you.” I stepped forward, pushing into his personal space, and he backed off a step, and then two. “And not today. Now get out of here.”

I held my ground until they climbed into their car and drove away. Then I sighed. Damn. I so did not need this.

Behind me Andy said softly, “I’m sorry, Aaron.”

“For what?” I turned to look at him. “You did what you were supposed to. When trouble came, you called me and then backed up Simon until I got here. What else could you have done?”

“I wasn’t much back-up,” he said miserably. “Daniel would have walked right over me.”

“It’s not your job to stand up to wolves like Daniel. It’s mine. You did fine.” I climbed the steps, and slapped his shoulder gently. “Take off, Andy. I’ll be here for a while, and Damian will be on patrol soon. Go get something to eat and warm up.” Not that we wolves felt the cold much.

Andy ducked his head. “Okay.” He turned to Simon. “You okay, bro?”

Simon dredged up a smile. The two had been friends a long time. “I’m fine. I’m glad you didn’t get dragged into a real fight, but it was good to have you here.”

“Right, sure.” Andy waved a hand toward the house. “Bye, Paul.” He pulled his hood up over his ears and headed off down the road to wherever he had parked his car.

I turned to Simon, still standing immovable in his doorway in sweatpants and a T-shirt. “Let’s take this inside,” I said gently. “You’re letting in the cold, and you may not feel it but Paul does.”

...

So... moving on

For those who are interested in Young Adult writing, I have a guest blog post on editor Ralph Gallagher's blog as Kira Harp. I tried to put my finger on the differences between writing my adult romances and the YA fiction.

As a moderator for the Goodreads YA LGBT book group, I've been giving a lot of thought to what defines YA fiction. We recommend books to the teens on the thread, and select Books of the Month. Often a book looks like a good fit, but fails on the test of appropriate content (and it doesn't help that everyone has slightly different standards.) If you're interested in my thoughts on the subject, check out Ralph's blog.

Incidentally, if you like YA fiction consider joining our Goodreads group. We post free short stories every month from member authors. I have 3 Valentine's shorts posted for a challenge of writing V-Day stories involving a devil/demon. I had to write 3. The challenge was for under 1000 words. You guys know me - the first was 2300, which I whittled to 1800 before giving up. The second was 1300, the third made it in under at 997. In the end we set up a thread for the over-runs as well, so all 3 got posted.

We also have monthly stories from a photo challenge. This month is f/f; the previous three were m/m. There are some very nice stories from several of our members who aren't published yet but sure as heck should be, and from other group authors. We also have discussions and a growing bookshelf. It's an open group - everyone welcome. Our members range from age 13 to "not gonna tell you."

On another positive note, Unexpected Demands is back from proofreading and going to formatting. I'm still hopeful we may get it out by the last Friday in February, but it may be tight. (The proofreader was a little bit backed up.) Since MLR now releases books only on Fridays, if we miss this one it will be the first week of March. And The Rebuilding Year is close to release. A couple of advance reviews have been good, so I'm looking forward to finally setting that one free.

My one blog about ebook piracy (I promise)

The fact that copyrighted ebooks are available for illegal free download out there on the Internet probably isn't news to anyone reading this. And it isn't news to me either. These sites are places where an individual, who has bought one copy of a book, offers unlimited downloadable copies to anyone who wants them. They euphamistically call it "file-sharing."

I've come across almost all of my books out there by now on different sites. I've seen on one site "102 downloads" of Life Lessons for which I earned not one cent in royalties. And now I recently came upon a new site full of illegal downloads of M/M books. As I cruised it to see which of mine were up there (none this time...yet) I realized just how disheartening this is.

Then I hit a thread on the site where an author complained, mildly and politely, about people illegally stealing her work. And I started to read the rebuttals she got. And my mind kind of boggled. I think a little steam came out of my ears. And I decided to blog about it here, just this once.

I really, really wanted to come to this author's defense on the site. But there was clearly no point. It was old news, written months ago. The thread was into its fourth page of comments and no-one was doing anything but justifying themselves and calling her names. Calling her greedy and hostile for asking them to please pay her for her own copyrighted work.

So I'm going to pull out some of the comments ( "in italics") from there, and write rebuttals. Just to get it off my chest. You don't have to read on.

“Hypothetically, I could say: if an author doesn't like the deal - don't make it, and/or don't do that for a living. That's a simple choice too. Again, you and (the author) and others have one perspective, some of us have others. If you don't like it or this site - feel free to not participate."

Um... so the solution to not wanting your books stolen is to either ignore it or stop being an author altogether?

“there are some of us who use this site like a library. “

A lot of people compared it to a library. A library does not let you keep a copy of each book you read. A hundred people cannot be reading a library's one copy of a book at one time. If there is a big demand they buy more copies.

“Here's how I see it. If 400 people come here and download your book, it's simple maths to see it as 400 x $5 = $2000 in lost sales. When put like that, it's pretty painful. But, and it's a big but, that's assuming that all of those 400 people would have bought that book. The reality is that perhaps 30 people would have bought your book if given the chance to do so here. Where I'm going with this is perhaps you could talk to the admin of this site and see if there is a unique partnership that you can strike here. Perhaps the admins here could put an affiliate link on here where your book appears that sends sales to your site or to Amazon? That's just one idea, I'm sure you could think of other ways to make this pay off for you.”

“Once I've read something I like, I end up going back and buying other things by that author. This is especially true of series type books, which happen to be my favorite”

This is a popular argument – that it is free advertising. Well, in the first place it's not free – it costs us the lost royalties. In the second place I would be more optimistic if I didn't see comments like this: “I loved Lynn Hagen's Brac Pack #1 – do you have the rest?” “Sure! They're great, aren't they? I have numbers 2-7. Here's the link...” That doesn't sound like someone getting one taste and then buying from that author. Books 2-7 had almost as many downloads as book 1.

Aleks Voinov posted about a book of his that had less than 1000 copies worth of legal sales, but he has seen over 10,000 illegal downloads. Even if only a tenth of those people might have bought it, he has still lost more royalties on that book than he made. And he's someone who has a lot of wonderful full-length free books out for readers to sample. Clearly that hasn't been enough to get them to pay for his other published work.


“Back to the original issue, I'm sure people know uploading/downloading is illegal, but the majority don't care. I get where you (authors) are coming from, but this is the generation that was raised on computers and downloading everything from music to film (I'm guessing this based on the numerous YA requests), so trying to convince them not to pirate is going to be very difficult. If lawsuit threats from the RIAA and anti-piracy ads from the MPAA before every film won't stop them, I don't think guilt trips, pleas, or well-reasoned logic will work. The only 'solution' is to work with the public and give them what they want.”

ie. You can't fight it so give up and let us have it for free.

“I understand the point of veiw (sic)of the author that it is stealing but as a reader I have finite resourses (sic) and heavily use my local library, loaning and borrowing from friends and family, secondhand book store and ebay but I find it difficult to swallow the implication that by using these methods you regard me as a thief”

“I always believed/understood that once I purchased an item it then became my sole property. to put an item up for sale and then tell the buyer that they can not have it or use it is redunant (sic) and hypacritcal (sic). I do not share my library out of malisciousness (sic) or with the intent in offending or harming any one. I share the library that I have purchased with MY hard earned money out the spirit of my love of reading.”

You spent the money for one copy. You then gave copies of it to 143 people and didn't have to lose your own original. Now 144 people own the book and the author received $3 for that.

“Most young adult books are read by exactly that, young adults. They consist of teenagers and college students, yes I am a grown adult but most of my friends don't enjoy young adult books unless they are teachers. With that said, this catagory (sic) of people can't afford to pay $10+ for books. I have no problem going to Amazon and buying a book that cost $5 but $10? That is a little steep when you don't have a job ...So when publishers, not authors, stop being so money hungry maybe people will stop "sharing" books. Are you telling me it is illegal to give my friend a copy of a book that I bought? I didn't think so.”

There seems to be this misconception that authors are making big bucks and readers are poor. I have yet to earn anything close to poverty level or minimum wage for my writing. For many authors, especially in m/m romance which is a small field, trying to write full time is very difficult. Even Josh Lanyon offered a manuscript evaluation service to make ends meet, and that's Josh Lanyon! We get no advances. The only payment we receive is from our royalties.

Books are wonderful, and it's nice to buy the ones we really want, but no one can buy everything they would like to own. There are lots of free books out there already. More than anyone can read. Purchased books are a luxury item. I love Godiva chocolate and it's very pricey. I would love to have it more often. But just because my funds are limited and it's expensive, I don't feel entitled to go out and just steal some. I have to settle for Hershey's sometimes, or make the effort to find something that is good and not as expensive (and chocolate doesn't come free anywhere, unfortunately. Special Forces does.)

As for being expensive, compare an ebook to the extra-large cup of fancy coffee you buy and consume in ten minutes. Which is the better value?

“You want to be entitled to your anger and your opinion, but you don't want to afford the same courtesy to people who simply disagree with you. You get to "have a completely valid right to be angry" because you believe that your books are being stolen from you and that makes you angry. Well, whether you agree or not with their reasons, many of the posters have what are in their opinions valid reasons for feeling the way they do too. Yet, you because you believe (i) there is a violation and (ii) that violation is happening to you - that you are in the right...Have you ever driven a car and done ore then the speed limit? Have you ever worked at a job and taken a pen home from the office by mistake? Have you ever eaten a single grape in the grocery store before you paid for it - or fed your kid a single grape to keep him quiet before you checked out? Have you ever found something that doesn't belong to you and not turned it in to the police station? The list of small, seemingly inconsequential crimes, could go on for a very long time - the point is, if you haven't ever done anything like them, then report yourself to the Vatican for sainthood. Otherwise, remember that - and the phrase about people in glass houses throwing stones...”

Um... so if the author has ever had a speeding ticket, they have no right to complain about their work being stolen? I'd love to turn that argument on the writer if her wallet was stolen.

“I am not surprised to see a user say they wouldn't give this thread another look. Good thing you both are authors and not attorneys because the author posts here are what I would call "non-responsive" in most instances and really only seem to be trying to incite and anger the users further...I would welcome you being at the end of your rope and having you not reply or participate again.”

Go away authors and stop complaining.

“People are starting to care too much about money. rudalve is right. what about the people that cant afford to buy the books but would love to read them. Because they love your words. And shouldn't that make you just the tiniest bit happy. Because isn't that why you write, not for the money, but for all those people that want to read what you wrote.”

I put out a lot of free stuff for people to read. I am delighted when people read it and enjoy it. I will undoubtedly publish more. If you are unwilling to pay for my professional work, go find those stories please.

“I am an unrepentant file sharer. I don't think there is any argument that is going to change my viewpoint on that.
I have over a thousand files on this computer alone and it's not my only computer...Whiny authors who want to pick at my morals do not entice me to spend five bucks on their product. There are so many other great books out there, I'm sure I can lead a long, happy and productive life without (your book).

Lesson to potential business people out there- do NOT insult your customer base. It is VERY bad customer service.”

How this person considers her/himself a valuable customer is beyond me.

OK, enough. I had to get that off my chest. There was a lot more like that. The sense of entitlement is scary.

There is one group I sympathize with: those who live in countries where some books may not be available legally at all. But if this applies to you, please email publishers, email Amazon, agitate for the work to be available legally. Email authors – they may prefer to send you one copy, rather than have you patronize sites that are downloading their books by the hundreds.

I'm not going to change the opinions of those who download. But I'd ask them to consider this:

For an author to be told not to complain when the number of illegal downloads exceeds the actual sales, to suggest that we should be flattered, is disheartening. If a writer you love brings out one book a year instead of four, remember that the demands of that second job, which he needs because the books don't pay well enough, may be the reason. And if he throws in the towel, and starts writing just for family and friends, it may be because he's sick of seeing his books stolen. Yes, as you so complacently say, writers will always write because they love it. But they may not have the time and they may not always publish. So if a favorite writer disappears from view, ask whether you may have played a role in that. And whether $5 really would have been too high a price to pay, to have seen the next book in that beloved series actually appear. And above all don't kid yourself – it's not borrowing and it's not sharing, it's stealing copies, it is illegal, and it is just plain wrong.