Josh’s Comments (group member since Jun 17, 2010)

Josh’s comments from the Q&A with Josh Lanyon group.

Antonella wrote: "Happy Transgender Day of Visibility!

And good news:
Utah’s Republican governor vetoes transgender sports ban
"I am not an expert on transgenderism," Gov. Spencer Cox wrote. "When in doubt however,..."

That's a pretty good rule of thumb from Cox.

Antonella wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Oh man.... thank you for making that announcement. So sad.... I really liked his books!"

Yes.

I had taken the previous announcement that he had started a new series as proof that ..."

And may I just say (though I guess I shouldn't) I will forever be proud to have been on the Lambda jury that granted him that LONG overdue award.

I had no idea he'd started a new series. It sounds terrific too.

Antonella wrote: "Sad news, via Michael Nava FB page (16th March):

It is with tremendous sadness I report the death of Dick Lipez who, writing as Richard Stevenson, was a pioneering gay mystery writ..."

Oh no! I discovered Lipez just after Hansen. Though not nearly as prolific--and much later to the genre--I would rank him just below Hansen for solid mystery/detective writing and also as a window into the past. The humor and humanity of his books are second to none. His comical literary references rivaled Wodehouse. Such a wonderful, wonderful writer.

I'm so sorry to read this news.

For those who've only experienced the Strachey series through those fairly ghastly TV movies, please do yourself a favor and read the books. They're so good.

Josh wrote: "Jordan wrote: "I would like to announce that our Spring themed Josh reread book for May will be.... Stranger on the Shore!!!

What a great choice!"

Oh! Okay. That's a great choice...."

Also, how the heck is it ALREADY May????!!!

Jordan wrote: "I would like to announce that our Spring themed Josh reread book for May will be.... Stranger on the Shore!!!

What a great choice!"

Oh! Okay. That's a great choice. I haven't read it myself in years. I'll see if I can come up with some promo things for that one.

Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I think people shouldn’t be able to return the book after a few days. The returns policy should be so open."

I agree, even though I too have fallen into the trap of not immediately checking if an order is right or if everything is undamaged and fits. I think forty-eight hours is fair enough.

And if you've consumed over twenty percent of the book, you should not be able to return it. After that point, the complaints are surely subjective.

Jordan wrote: "Oohh, that’s interesting. It probably is confusing. I’ve not done that myself, but helping patrons at the library with eBooks and apps, it doesn’t surprise me that you could accidentally do it."

I think I've returned books twice in all the years I've had my Kindle. The idea that I would return a book because I read it but didn't enjoy it is incredible to me. I still read it! I consumed the product.

I think it goes back to that weird sense of entitlement some people have. The idea that you can consume a thing, but if you didn't really like it (or even if you did, but you think it's overpriced) you can still get your money back.

There are very few things in the world that work like this. In a restaurant you might get your dessert comped or a small reduction on the bill, but why *should* you be completely refunded for the entire experience unless something really drastic happened like...oh, I don't know, the waiter set your hair on fire while lighting the peaches flambe.

I don't know--and I don't want to start ranting--but to me it's all part of the weird modern attitude that everything should somehow be insured. Like if you go hiking in a forest and you're attacked by a mountain lion, you should be compensated for that.

Really?

On the other hand, I feel that food, shelter, education and health care should be guaranteed to everyone in any civilized society.

But mountain lion attacks while hiking in forests? IMHO you're on your own.

Karen wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Seen and signed thanks to J.L. Merrow:

Change Amazon Return Policies for Completed E-books: Protect Authors from Theft!

https://www.change.org/p/change-amazon-r..."

Probably.

There's a lot of confusion out there. I think I mentioned years ago how LB Gregg discovered her mother was listening to audio books and then returning them BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT THAT WAS HOW IT WORKED. She had literally never paid for an audio book and that went on for years. :-D :-D :-D

So that nonsense about Amazon keeping tabs on returns and making sure people didn't abuse the system is just that. Nonsense.

Jordan wrote: "I’ve never used it, but I have a coworker who does. I probably would if my tbr pile wasn’t so high with things already published. I definitely don’t have time for new things that aren’t out yet. Th..."

This is the problem. With so many free or .99 cent books out there--with subscription platforms like Scribd, KU, etc--there is no shortage of books.

In fact, we now actually have something known as "reader burn-out" because there is so much pressure to review.

I checked my Kindle the other day and I have nearly 600 books on it. 400+ of which I've never read and 100+ of which I've only partially read.

I'm more likely to complete a print book than a Kindle title.

Which I know makes me an outlier. But in any given population, there are millions if not billions of outliers.

Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "I should clarify. Publishers pay. ;-) But because I'm almost exclusively self-publishing now, I'm my own publishing house and I have my own NetGalley subscription."

Thank you for expl..."

B-b-but Antonella, this is the modern way!!! ;-D

Karen wrote: "And here’s the biggie. In The Magician Murders Sam says they caught the Roadside Killer and I thought he was referring to Berkle. Now I’m completely confused. When I first read Winter Kill I though..."

Yes, you're correct. Sam identifies Berkle as the Roadside Killer. There's no question that Berkle is a serial killer.

HOWSOEVER. ;-D

What we learn in The Movie-Town Murders--as investigators begin to go through the deceased Berkle's logbooks and journals--Berkle might not have been acting alone for some or all of his killings.

Josh wrote: "Karen wrote: "Some more thoughts/questions…
I was happy that the final scenes with Berkle and Adam didn’t evolve into a classic (and unrealistic) mystery denouement where the serial killer goes on ..."

The depressing thing is not that Berkle didn't genuinely care. It's that he's a warped, sick human who can't help destroying the things he most cares about.

And yet he's also genuinely trying to be helpful to law enforcement with his tracking dogs.

These are the dichotomies I find so fascinating.

Karen wrote: "Some more thoughts/questions…
I was happy that the final scenes with Berkle and Adam didn’t evolve into a classic (and unrealistic) mystery denouement where the serial killer goes on at length expl..."

What's terrible (at least in my mind) in that prologue is Dove thinks they are running away together. But Berkle is coming to kill him. The secrecy is merely to hide the crime and get Dove out in the middle of nowhere.

Jordan wrote: "Antonella wrote: "I finished rereading last night. I loved the book once more.

I share Calathea's point of view about the last chapter. I was glad that I already knew the ending. The second part o..."

Absolutely! This is correct.

Antonella wrote: "I finished rereading last night. I loved the book once more.

I share Calathea's point of view about the last chapter. I was glad that I already knew the ending. The second part of the chapter is s..."

Yes. Bekle is still obsessed with the killing of Koletar. Still trying to justify it, still trying to work it out, because--dreadfully--he did love him. In his own twisted way. And everything that followed sprang from that tormented attachment.

SamSpayedPI wrote: "1. I might be wrong, but I thought Zeke thought she meant dead bodies.

2. He meant "Oh, snap!" (drawn out for emphasis) which is an expression that's a bit difficult to define. In this context, it..."

Sam is correct as usual!

It doesn't occur to Zeke that there will also be living people present who are mourning the loss of their loved ones.

As far as Oh, sa-nap I might have been better off using an 'h' for emphasis. Oh, sah-nap ? Or maybe it would have been more confusing? But either way, Sam is correct. :-D

That said, it is going! And I'm grateful for that.

Jordan wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

A post about how the writing is going so far t..."

Which I can sum up in one word. SLOW. ;-D

Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "I pay a over $300 dollars a month for NetGalley and the thinking is that I will get better quality reviews. Professional quality reviews."

I didn't realise that authors have to pay fo..."

I should clarify. Publishers pay. ;-) But because I'm almost exclusively self-publishing now, I'm my own publishing house and I have my own NetGalley subscription.

Jordan wrote: "The history of female detectives in books: https://topanganewtimes.com/2021/07/0...

I thought I'd shared this before, but I don't see it, so I'm sha..."

I think the first married detectives were Paul Beck and Dora Myrl.

https://thrillingdetective.com/2019/0...

Sadly, as with so many married detective duos, from the point Dora becomes Mrs. Myrl, she's relegated to sidekick and then eventually mother of the sleuth, as their son takes over the business. :-(