Nick Davis's Blog, page 91

A Teddy Bear Bedtime Story – Keep Your Room Tidy

This is the story of a little boy who was moving to brand new house. He was very excited because he was getting a new room that would have lots and lots of space for him to play with all his toys. That night his Mother carefully packed all his toys, storybooks, pens and pencils away into two huge boxes, and asked the little boy many times if he would like to help. The little boy said he was too tired to help and didn't pick a single toy up; not even his favorite the Captain Avenger super action figure leaving it laying abandoned on the floor.

The very next day the family moved to their new home and the little boy entered his new bedroom and saw it was full of all his toys, his storybooks were stacked neat on the shelf, and pens and pencils were put away into clear labeled tubs. It was perfect and he had promised his Mother he would keep it as tidy as he found it. That day the little boy played all he liked, taking his beloved Captain Avenger on a new heroic adventure. Afterwards he went to bed without tidying up like he promised he would.

When he awoke the next day the little boy had breakfast and went up to his room to play, mysteriously all the toys were put back into place, all the storybooks were stacked neat upon the shelf, the pens and pencils were put back into their clear labeled tubs. The boy was sure no one had entered his room and he asked his Mother who said she didn't tidy it, but she teased that maybe a Boggle did and if he didn't start tidying the room himself the Boggle would take a toy as payment. The boy asked what a Boggle was and the Mother explained that a Boggle would travel at night from bedroom to bedroom tidying up little boys rooms in exchange for toys. After that the little boy did not pay it much mind and he played as he liked with Captain Avenger leading the way, leaving the room in a huge mess before going to sleep without tidying up again. The exact same thing happened the next day, the boy awoke, had breakfast went back to his room to play to find it perfectly tidy.

This went on for five whole days, until the sixth day the boy went back to his room after breakfast ready for another adventure with Captain Avenger. Although the room was perfectly tidy he could not see his favorite toy. He looked high; he looked low, under the bed, behind the shelves, in the drawers, next to the books and right to the bottom of the toy box, but the noble Captain could not be found anywhere. What he did find was a little yellow note on which was wrote with neat little letters, 'Five Days perfect tidying, One Captain Avenger exchanged as payment, please keep this receipt for your records.'

The boy cried for Captain Avenger was his favorite toy and ran to his Mother to show her the note; try as she might the Mother could not see the writing on it. Thinking the toy was lost under a pile of toys as boys are a want to do she shooed him away saying that maybe if he kept his room tidy the Boggle would return his toy. The little boy nodded and every night before going to bed he carefully tidied his room.

After five days of keeping his room tidy and doing what his Mother told him the little boy woke up to find his beloved Captain Avenger standing with the rest of his toys with a little yellow note attached upon which these were written, 'Five Days of perfect tidying, One Captain Avenger exchanged as payment, please keep this receipt for your records.'

Please read and share this Bedtime story to learn more about the Teddy Bear Tales click here.

A Teddy Bear Tale Review on the Simmworks Family Blog

The Simmworks Family Blog has written a great review of A Teddy Bear Tale on their website, go and check it out here. My favorite part was reading how their son playacts scenes from the book, and insisted his Teddy Bear is armed with a foam sword to fight off the Monsters under the bed at night

While you are there you can also enter their Tisket Tasket Sponsor Giveaway and you can win signed copy of this tale of a humble Teddy Bear defending his child from the Monsters under the bed, or a host of other goodies.

The Avengers movie Action Figures new toys to Marvel over

A little late uncovering these, but I've found the images for the Action Figures for the upcoming Avengers movie. Looks like they are the same scale as the current Marvel universe line as keeping with Thor, Ironman and First Avengers sets, yes I am very excited to see these and yes I would love to have them all… Circumstances may not see that happen, but that is an amazing looking Captain America.

Avengers vs X Babies in the nursery rumble of the century

This cute variant art for Avengers vs X-Men #1 created by artist Skottie Young for New York retailer Midtown Comics and this rumble in the Marvel nursery is available for purchase on their website here.

Watch it while you can… And Marvel at The Avengers – Official Trailer #2

The Avengers – Official Trailer #2 started the day as an itunes exclusive to force you to download or join a service you don't really need, but now is out across the internets on Youtube. Lots of new stuff to see that promises this will be a good fun superhero romp. Anyhow you go and check it out for yourself…

500 Word Flash Fiction – The Final Lap

I'm in the zone the moment when everything is perfect, I feel every vibration, hum and screech like the entire car is embedded into me. In a way it is, I am just the final component that brings all this finely engineered machinery together – the Nut that holds the wheel.

I've spent the entire race waiting for this moment for fifty-five laps I've been bullying this car making it stretch, shimmer, bend and dance beyond what it was designed to do. Only now have we come to an understanding and we are both in total harmony with the final lap to go. Just in front I see my rival the last obstacle between me and winning this race. I can see he is suffering, wheels blistered in the race heat and brake discs glowing as he goes sideways into the corner.  I laugh as I carry more speed and zoom right up onto his wing… Too close and his bad air pushes my front down and he gains valuable yards as I recover; just a little too aggressive almost taking me out of my zone.

We duel for the next two corners each time I learn something new. The first corner shows his brakes are really shot and he has to use his gears to slow down; the second corner I see the last of the rubber come off his back wheels as he snakes to control the loss of grip.  We race like we are attached by an elastic umbilical cord I catch up on the corners, but he still has the legs on the straights.  All I can do is keep myself calm and push him into a mistake. I settle down along the back no sense in pushing too hard until the last set of corners. I keep close though making sure all he can see in his mirrors is me I don't want his eyes on the track, I want him focusing on me.

For what seems like an eternity we reach the last set of corners, a switchback that is a joy to run, pushes you right down into your seat forcing a smile as you fly on through. With my wing and grip alone I have the advantage, his car is done and it will be all he can do to stay on the track. I gun him down the straight forcing him to go faster into the corner than he wants, the car skips and a gap you can ride a bus down opens. I feather the throttle, trusting the down force to hold me in place and we are side by side. I glance over I can see his eyes burning through the helmet as he wrestles his car into the reverse corner. I know he can't hold it at this speed and like a gazelle I leap forward, it is over the switchback decided the race, he held me on guts and I respect that, but this race is mine today…

Sigmartyr the Unofficial Action Figure Webcomic – Mantis Attack!

The Unofficial Stikfas Action Webcomic Sigmartyr continues… Mantis Attack! The Coalition Mecha cover the retreat of Alpha Team, but the Alliance are not beaten yet. Click here to view this epic story…

The Price of Freedom of Speech

I don't normally talk about this issue, but today I'm taking a moment to discuss the price of freedom of speech and some of the dilemmas it can pose to those that support it. You see your right to express yourself, your thoughts, opinions without fear is a fundamental right here in the USA. To support this you must accept the good with the bad, every positive with every negative, you cannot compromise or contradict once you accept this ideal. It doesn't mean there isn't dilemmas that cause you to question this.

Why this post then? Recently Smashwords, an eBook publishing service I use to distribute my books out onto the Kobo, Sony eReader, itunes, eDeisel and makes them available in multiple formats, was forced by its payment gateway Paypal to actively censor some of the books in its market place… Specifically a number of adult erotica titles that contain certain references. I'll let Mark Coker, owner of Smashwords explain in his own words in the press release he made about this after the jump.

February 24, 2012

Re: Your Smashwords account at http://smashwords.com/profile/view/XXXXX

Dear Smashwords Authors, Publishers and Literary Agents,

This email is being sent to all authors, publishers and agents who have published  erotica at Smashwords.  We will also post this message to Site Updates and the  Press Room.

Today we are modifying our Terms of Service to clarify our policies regarding erotic fiction that contains bestiality, rape and incest.  If you write in any of these categories, please carefully read the instructions below and remove such content from Smashwords.  If you don't write in these categories, you can disregard this message.

PayPal is requiring Smashwords to immediately begin removing the above-mentioned categories of books.  Please review your title(s) and proactively remove and archive such works if you are affected.

I apologize for the short notice, and I'm especially sorry for any financial or emotional hardship this may cause the authors and publishers affected by this

change.

As you may have heard, in the last couple weeks PayPal began aggressively enforcing a prohibition against online retailers selling certain types of "obscene" content.  For good background on the issue, see this Selena Kitt post here - http://selenakitt.com/blog/index.php/2012/02/19/slippery-slope-erotica-censorship/ or here - http://theselfpublishingrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/02/slippery-slope-erotica-censorship.html#comment-form or this Kindleboards thread here -http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,104604.0.html

On Saturday, February 18, PayPal's enforcement division contacted Smashwords with an ultimatum.  As with the other ebook retailers affected by this enforcement, PayPal gave us only a few days to achieve compliance otherwise they threatened to deactivate our PayPal services.   I've had multiple conversations with PayPal over the last several days to better understand their requirements.  Their team has been helpful, forthcoming and supportive of the Smashwords mission.  I appreciate their willingness to engage in dialogue. Although they have tried their best to delineate their policies, gray areas remain.

Their hot buttons are bestiality, rape-for-titillation, incest and underage erotica.

The underage erotica is not a problem for us.  We already have some of the industry's strictest policies prohibiting underage characters (we don't even allow non-participating minors to appear in erotica), and our vetting team is always on the lookout for "barely legal" content where supposed adults are placed in underage situations.

The other three areas of bestiality, rape and incest were less well-defined in our Terms of Service (https://www.smashwords.com/about/tos) before today.   I'll tackle these one-by-one below, and I'll provide you a summary of the changes that will go into effect immediately.

*Incest:*  Until today, we didn't have a policy prohibiting incest between consenting adults, or its non-biological variation commonly known as "Pseudo-incest."  Neither did our retailer partners.  We've noticed a surge of PI books over the last few months, and many of them have "Daddy" in the title.  I wouldn't be surprised if the surge in "Daddy" titles prompted PayPal to pursue this purge (I don't know).  PI usually explores sexual relations between consenting adult stepchildren with their step parents, or between step-siblings.  Effectively immediately, we no longer allow incest of any variety in erotica.

Like many writers, censorship of any form greatly concerns me.  It is with some reluctance that I have made the decision to prohibit incest-themed erotica at Smashwords.  Regardless of your opinion on incest, it's a slippery slope when we allow others to control what we think and write.  Fiction is fantasy.  It's not real.  It unfolds in our imagination.  I've always believed fiction writers and readers should have the freedom to explore diverse topics and situations in the privacy of their own mind.  From an imagination perspective, erotica is little different from a literary novel that puts us inside the mind of farm animals (Animal Farm), or a thriller novel that puts us inside the mind of a terrorist, or a horror novel that puts us inside the mind of an axe-murderer or their victim. All fiction takes us somewhere.  We read fiction to be moved, and to feel.  Sometimes we want to feel touched, moved, or disturbed.  A reader should have the right to feel moved however they desire to be moved.

Incest, however, carries thorny baggage.  The legality of incest is murky.  It creates a potential legal liability for Smashwords as our business and our books become more present in more jurisdictions around the world.   Anything that threatens Smashwords directly threatens our ability to serve the greater interests of all Smashwords authors, publishers, retailers and customers who rely upon us as the world's leading distributor of indie ebooks.  The business considerations compel me to not fall on the sword for incest.  I realize this is an imperfect decision.  The slippery slope is dangerous, but I believe this imperfect decision is in the best interest of the community we serve.



*Bestiality:*  Until now, we didn't have a stated policy regarding bestiality. I like animals.  Call me old fashioned or hypocritical (I'm not a vegetarian),

but I don't want to be a party to anyone enjoying animals for sexual gratification, for the same reason we've never allowed pedophilia books.  I don't want to publish it, sell it, or distribute it.  The TOS is now modified to reflect this.  Note this does not apply to shape-shifters common in paranormal romance provided the were-creature characters are getting it on in their human form.  Sorry I need to clarify it that way, but we don't want to see bestiality erotica masquerading as paranormal romance.

*Rape:*  Although our Terms of Service prohibits books that advocate violence against others, we did not specifically identify rape.  This was an oversight on our part.  Now we have clarified the policy.  We do not want books that contain rape for the purpose of titillation.  At Smashwords, rape no longer has a place in erotica.  It has no place anywhere else if the purpose is to titillate.  Non-consensual BDSM – or any other form of non-consensual violence against another person – is prohibited.

*NEXT STEPS:*  If you have titles at Smashwords that are now expressly forbidden, by the end of day Monday (Feb 27), please click to your Dashboard at https://www.smashwords.com/dashboard and click UNPUBLISH then click ARCHIVE.  This will also cause our automated systems to remove the titles from retail distribution.

DO NOT try to hide or obfuscate violating content by changing book titles, book descriptions and tags.  If we discover such shenanigans, said authors/publishers will risk account deletion and forfeiture of any accrued earnings, per our Terms of Service.

We take violations of the TOS seriously, because such violations jeopardize the

opportunities for your fellow authors.

We do not want to see PayPal clamp down further against erotica.  We think our authors should be allowed to publish erotica.  Erotica, despite the attacks it faces from moralists, is a category worthy of protection.  Erotica allows readers to safely explore aspects of sexuality that they might never want to explore in the real world.

The moralists forget that we humans are all sexual creatures, and the biggest sex organ is the brain.  If it were not the case, none of us would be here.   Erotica authors are facing discrimination, plain and simple.  Topics that are perfectly acceptable in mainstream fiction are verboten in erotica.  That's not fair.  Our decisions today are imperfect.  Please, act responsibly, don't try to game the system or publish content that pushes the limits of legality.  Help us continue to help indie authors around the world to continue to publish and distribute with freedom.

*THINGS TO AVOID:*  Avoid using words such as 'bestiality,' 'rape,' 'incest,"underage,' or 'barely legal' in book titles, book descriptions or keyword tags, otherwise Smashwords may conclude you're violating the Terms of Service, or trying to push the limits.  If you're writing non-erotic works, and any of these words are necessary, then you're okay.

On Tuesday (Feb 28) we will begin removing content that we deem in violation. When we remove a title, you will receive an email notifying you of such, and that email will append this letter along with instructions on how to notify us if we made an error.   I promise you, we will make mistakes, so please work with us, take a deep breath and honor us with your patience.

If you believe we removed something in error, please click "Comments/questions," mention the title we removed, provide the hyperlink to said title, and provide your *calm* reasoning for why we should reconsider.

Our support team is backlogged, so it may take several days for them to respond. As we mention in the Terms of Service, we reserve the right to remove anything for any reason.  That said, we will also try to make our decisions with careand prudence.

You might wonder if Smashwords should simply switch to a different payment provider.  It's not so easy.  PayPal is designed into the wiring of the Smashwords platform.  They run the credit card processing for our retail store, and they're how we pay our authors and publishers.  PayPal is also an extremely popular, trusted payment option for our customers.  It is not feasible for us to simply switch to another provider, should such a suitable provider even exist, especially with so few days notice.

Please note our Terms of Service is subject to additional modifications as we work to bring Smashwords into compliance with PayPal requirements.  Let's hope today's actions mark the limit of the slippery slope.

Significant gray area remain.  Erotica is still permitted, though if authors try to push the limits of what's permitted, we risk further clamping down.  Please be responsible.  Don't go there.   If you're going to push the limits, push the limits of great writing, not the limits of legality.

Thank you for assisting our compliance efforts on such short notice.  We know these decisions will be upsetting to some of our authors and publishers, and for that we apologize.  We do believe, however, that these decisions will place us on a stronger footing to represent the best interests all indie authors and publishers from here forward.

Best wishes,

Mark Coker

Founder

Smashwords

P.S.  Please contact our support team for inquiries regarding this change in our Terms of Service by clicking the "comments/questions" link at the top of any page at Smashwords.  If your inquiry regards a specific title, please include the hyperlink to the book page of that specific title.

Okay did you get that? Mark is asking certain types of erotica Authors to start censoring there own work and titles are being pulled now. There is something fundamentally wrong with this it is self-censorship imposed by an outside faction a crack in an Authors first amendment rights, it is everything that is wrong and against freedom of expression. But there is also a moral dilemma here.

Paypal is specific about what it wont accept, bestiality, rape-for-titillation, incest and underage erotica. My personal opinion of this is to write that sort of stuff and to read it for the sheer purpose to excite a person must have something wrong with them, and I find it pretty sick stuff. After all we are not talking about this stuff being written to provoke thought, but to turn a person on.

You would think then I wouldn't bat an eyelid to see this shite go, right? Well, part of me does think this, however it is censorship and where do you draw the line? It is the start of a slippery slope, first it is self-censorship as Mark proposes, then it is mandated censorship imposed so a payment gateway can be used, what is next? Yes, it is taking out the extreme sick erotica, but what if it goes after the more mainstream erotica titles? Or adult content phrased in a different to provoke throught comes under this sway?

For example The Tether the first book in my dark fantasy series features a near-rape scene, and although it was definitely not written to excite it is an important part of the books narrative. At the start of the very same book Sarah encounters Christian, a character who is excited by the pain and fear he is causing her, again not written to excite but to show how insane Christian is and again is another important part of the books narrative. That is two instances in my first book published on Smashwords that could technically fall foul of Paypal's imposed censorship.

There is a call to pull books from Smashwords, to boycott the service until Mark places another payment system into place to support these extreme erotica Authors. This in the end I feel is more to do with Mark having to make a business decision that if losing a percentage of business is worth picking up the increased processing fee's. The question is how many Authors are going to boycott to support extreme erotica?

This poses a dilemma, where do you take that stand? Freedom of Speech and the protection of it means everything the good with the bad. Lots of deep thoughts and questions ahead for a lot of Authors including myself and this is the first time I've found myself questioning my stand on censorhip… And this is the price of freedom of speech.

Book Review – Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

Recently I saw Starship Troopers 3 on TV it actually showed Mobile suits for the first time, but it was all a world away from what Starship Troopers the book is about. It did though stir me into writing this review of Starship Troopers the novel.

First off forget the movies, the movies do an extremely poor service to what this book and its clever social commentary is all about. In fact the movie barely touches what the novel is all about. While the book has attracted controversy and criticism for its social and political themes, which some critics claim promote fascism and militarism.  The movie does nothing to explore the themes of the book and instead chooses to parody them.

The world of Starship Troopers is a military society, decision are made by veterans who have earned citizenship through Federal Service. This Federal Service isn't just limited to Military service, but must include mandated by law anyone who has the will to serve. We follow Juan "Johnnie" Rico on his journey from civilian to citizen as he signs up for Federal Service more to impress a girl than through duty and we are with him every step of the way.

The book really breaks down into a series of set pieces and social commentary that examines society, why it works and what went wrong in the one, a society that closely mirrors I own that came before.  There are times you will find yourself agreeing with themes of the book, then scratch you head afterwards trying to figure out what that makes you. Certainly keeps me guessing and I read this book about once a year. The over arching theme seems to be about responsibility, to yourself, to your peers, to your civilization. The accusation of fascism is not supported by the book unless I am missing something, the movie sculpts a fascist society, but the book is more a promotion of rights and the responsibility you have to maintain them for everyone.

As I mentioned there is a lot commentary as follow Rico through his training and his first missions, some are flash backs, some long form discussions. Not a lot of action, we start with a drop into a war zone and the book ends the same way. The entire book is very deceptive and actually gives you a lot to think about. A very enjoyable piece of science fiction which is more than just its source.

4 Thumbs Up out of 5 

A Teddy Bear Tale Artist Dan Nokes is heading to The Image Expo this Weekend Feb 24th to 26th

A Teddy Bear Tale Artist and Creative Director for 21st Century Sandshark Studios Dan Nokes is heading out to Oakland California for The Image Expo on February 24th – 26th. So if you are in the area or attending be sure to check out his work in Booth 712 in the Artist Alley. He will be bringing The Paranormals, The Pistoleers, Adam & Eve and of course A Teddy Bear Tale, along with exclusive art, prints and sneak peeks at some of his new projects including The Return of Kit Carson, Impossible Space Tales and news with what is happening next with the Teddy Bear tales…

To learn more about The Image Expo and what Dan Nokes will be doing at this West Coast convention check out the 21st Century Sandshark Studios Press Release here along with the new artwork for Dan's new project Kit Carson.