Complaint Department discussion
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Roger wrote: "Would that make it a bit like Felixitations ? "Not at all. You really should read Felixitations again if you've forgotten that the joy of this book is that Felix doesn't travel in linear time and he doesn't stop at 2000 since he is not limited in any way he goes into the future too.
In addition to the fun of jumping around back and forth in time as Felix goes where the fates see his talents are needed, his travels and purpose is serendipitous. The destiny of the gay men he appears too is changed, mostly for the better… much better by Felix. He provides a chance for happiness (or at least really good times in bed and elsewhere) as his presence moves life in a direction Fortuna provides.
This is a phenomenon many can relate to since the chances that everything and everyone would be in just the right place to bring us to places in our lives and especially loves is just that—chances. For me Felix is the chance factor we all see working in the world and specifically in relationships.
But Felix is a devious character so the stories become very different. Also Felix becomes different too. He may drop into a gay man's life a in a changed appearance.
So Felix is no ordinary time traveler and Felixations is no ordinary book. It a series of magnificent stories some which tie together characters and some of which don't. Because when anything can happen you never know.
Oh, there is one thing readers can count on author Roger Kean provides a titillating variety of sexual situations to spice up Felix's travels and our reading.
I have to complain that I don't know what to say to that :)
I am kvetching that it took over 9 months from when the Complaint Department was founded in February 2013 for this group to reach 200 members which happened yesterday. Welcome S Klein!Since people come and go, there may not be 200 members for long but it is a milestone.
Hello S. Klein!
Here comes my big complaint or maybe complaints seeings I've been out of commision for awhile (that's the first complaint) second Roger posted some photos on FB of yummy stuff he made and I don't know how to share that here because I'm using my phone *grumbles & wines* and third and the thing that's got me so hot under the collar....I wanted him to pack up and send me some but someone ate most of it...Oli! Monika is not a morning person and when all this kind of stuff happens at once it makes for a very grumpy Monika! End of complaint.....for now.
Monika wrote: "Here comes my big complaint or maybe complaints seeings I've been out of commision for awhile (that's the first complaint) second Roger posted some photos on FB of yummy stuff he made and I don't k..."I think it's damned unfair that Monika is stuck all the way over the other side of Canada and and so can't reach out to grab some of that yummy stuff I made. As a child, whenever I reached across the table to grab some yummy stuff, I was told to use my tongue instead, which didn't make much sense, since it wasn't anywhere near as long as my arm.
Why doesn't Roger live in London? So I could occupy his couch for a few nights till I solve some problems occurred after I had come to London. I hate things getting worse when they seem to go well.
Why doesn't Roger live in London and have more than one sofa? Then a whole bunch of us could visit him and crash because I know he'd love to host us.Is anyone going to that UK GLBT fiction event next year? It sounds better than the U.S. one although I've never been to either one.
Brad
It's not right that there isn't a good university in ludlow, then Anil could occupy one of our four couches for a few nights (or all four of them… although there is a spare bedroom as well. And I hope things go better very soon, Anil.
I must complain that there's a hunky, young, muscled stud who ignores my many messages of undying, eternal love, the promise of a ten-room co-op in the Dakota to be put in his name and my willingness not to require a pre-nup but is stalking me on Goodreads.
B.D. wrote: "I must complain that there's a hunky, young, muscled stud who ignores my many messages of undying, eternal love, the promise of a ten-room co-op in the Dakota to be put in his name and my willingne..."As a hunky, young, muscled stud, I would be happy to be his substitute and get that spot at the Dakota so long as I can still be polyamorous.
It grieves me, most painfully, and I shudder to announce:
is now available at AMZ for USD .99 (or equivalent local currencies).
The blurb on the pixelated dust jacket:
Royalty Notice: 20% will be donated to an LGBT organization in my community.
***
I was given a prophecy by the Oracle at Delphi, long before the birth of your Christ-child. She said I would be a soldier, and that I could not die until four things had happened. The first was finding “a mountain to the west.” Do you have any idea how many mountains there are to the west of Delphi?
I do.
As the years and centuries passed, I searched, and fought, and searched again. Not knowing how I would know which mountain was the right mountain, but somehow certain I would know.
I exhausted Europe. The British Isles. Iceland, Greenland, eastern Canada. Down into America around the time she was born, and there I found...my mountain. I made it my home. I left only when I was called to battle, for my new country, for others. I survived, of course. Came back to wait for the next call. Wondered, too, as I fought, and lived, and waited...when the second, and third, and fourth would happen. Wondered, too, sometimes, when the millennia made a world’s weight on shaking Atlas shoulders, if the right word was actually “if.”
And then I met him. July 12, 1912. I was so very sure....
This is my story, and the story of my kin in the village-town, and in the homes and farms grain-scattered around my mountain, though not blood kin, for I never married. How could I? My story, told by the man whose life was intertwined so closely with mine for a time.
Nikolai
***
Eric.
p.s. Of course I bought the first copy!
p.p.s. At my age I didn't really think I had any more virginities to lose. >g<
10,737 words of actual story text.
I need to complain that I don't have enough congratulatory words to say about Complaint Department member #8 Cmbwey who married his partner last Friday as they honeymooned in Niagara Falls, NY. Best wishes for long, healthy lives together guys!
What a great looking couple! >throwing rice< Hooray!!!
I must add my whiny voice to Preston's in congratulations! What joy.
It pains me to say Ajax1978 has left the building.
I'm envious that Cmbwey and partner live in such an impressive mansion. Where are the footmen and the butler?
Oh, darn missed saying congrats:( Well, congrats Cmbwey!
I disgooglated to hear that while Google is celebrating 50 years of Dr. Who in Britain, it isn't in the USA, nor even a mention of Kennedy.
Roger wrote: "I disgooglated to hear that while Google is celebrating 50 years of Dr. Who in Britain, it isn't in the USA, nor even a mention of Kennedy."I am unregeneratingly sorrowful that Google has an ordinary logo in the US while the UK Google logo is a celebration of the Doctor.
To see what we are missing on this day in the UK version of Google go to https://www.google.co.uk/webhp
Remember that the UK is 5 hours ahead of Eastern Time in the US so if you try this at 7:01pm Eastern time it is already tomorrow in the UK so you won't see the Dr. Who celebratory Google logo.
Cmbwey wrote: "I am annoyed that that I have to say thank you to Preston, unfortunately we had a great time."I hate being so busy I miss being around to hear good news.
Congrats!
I deaspurgated that according to today's online USA Today "...The National Security Agency collected evidence of online sexual activity and visits to pornographic websites…" If anyone should get a job being paid by the government to surf porn sites it should be me.
A dream job. Nothing better than being paid to do what you do anyway!!!
It dismays me to announce that Dancing in the Dark (A Tale for Two Voices) is now available at AMZ for USD .99 (and appropriate prices elsewhere).
About Dancing:
Royalty Note: 20% of the royalties will be donated to an LGBT organization in my community.
***
1963.
An old high school in a dying neighborhood. It’s ruled by two wolf-packs: the Dragons and the Monarchs. Masked at night, by day there is no sign or symbol to mark their allegiance. But still the students know who to fear—the instincts of terrified prey scenting prowling predator.
Two friends, fifteen, too old for boys, too young for men, no pair of lean Marine machines, just ordinary size and shape, one tall, one shorter, not by much. By alphabetic chance, their names are paired when Noah’s two-by-two is called. They never talk about the danger if the packs find out they’re paired in more than class. They make themselves content with the little that they have, though wishing, aching deep inside for something more.
And once, just once, they had a day. Or only hours, not even that. They didn’t dance in light or dark, but in a dimness made of boarded windows, and random holes where nails had been, that draped thin strands of sunlight across them both.
But now...they’re faced with dancing in the dark.
***
Though it's not part of the "official" blurb, for those who might be interested, it's written in almost pure iambic rhythm...something that just seemed to happen automatically as I wrote. And then I made sure (except for an intentional place or two) that it was all that way.
I obviously hope you enjoy it...it's my gay version of West Side Story.
Eric
Goldarnit, now even Olympic champions are claiming to be gay, or bi or something. To be fair, Tom Daley's received a lot of support. Even Russell Brandt said "Well done sunshine." Nothing much from his ace fan Vlad Putin yet, tho…
Roger wrote: "Goldarnit, now even Olympic champions are claiming to be gay ...Gay Olympic Champions? Try:
The Front Runner
You want to throw this one across the room. I did.
I am infuriated that I only have 3 weeks left as an undergrad. What in the name of Gaea am I going to do after that?!?
Rick wrote: "Roger wrote: "Goldarnit, now even Olympic champions are claiming to be gay ...Gay Olympic Champions? Try:
The Front Runner
You want to throw this one across the room. I did."
Why throw it across the room? I remember reading this when it was first published, and I recall the powerful impact of the ending. I think, though, that you have to read it with a mind-set that ignores almost 40 years of subsequent history, and read it for its time. I do remember a great deal of crying at the end (all mine, of course).
But throwing it across the room suggests, to me, some sort of anger or disgust. So, just out of curiosity, what made you (literally or figuratively) throw it?
Eric
p.s. If you threw your Kindle (other ebook reader) I hope it survived the crash. >s<
Rick wrote: "Roger wrote: "Goldarnit, now even Olympic champions are claiming to be gay ...Gay Olympic Champions? Try:
The Front Runner
You want to throw this one across the room. I did."
But that was fiction and the very nice young Tom Daley, who I have watched grow from a shy 13-year-old hopeful, is very real.
And I have to agree with Eric. Front Runner had a powerful impact on my younger self, though I'm sure it doesn't work for today.
I read it almost 30 years ago (if memory serves) and it was the ending that so enraged me that I literally threw my copy across the room as I burst in an avalanche of tears. I almost couldn't read the two sequels, Billy's Boy & Harlan's Race, because I was so traumatized by the ending. I do not usually read the teasers and such so I had no idea that I was getting so caught up in a Romeo and Juliet sort of thing. It probably took me an hour to get up, go across the room, pick up the book and finish reading it. Very powerful book, the sequels - not nearly as good.
Rick wrote: "I am infuriated that I only have 3 weeks left as an undergrad. What in the name of Gaea am I going to do after that?!?"
Wow Rick,
Lori wrote: "Rick wrote: "Wow Rick, Yeah, some day - but probably not right away. It doesn't look like I can get hired in January and I can't afford to pay for more classes without getting a job at this point. So now I'm upset about not having a job - again.
I hate the US economy and all those sociopath CEOs that tanked it.
Help, please!The only instructions I have for uploading an image to any of the discussions, including my GR blog, is to upload first to www.pichut.eu. That has always worked in the past. Tonight, however, when I wanted to upload the cover image for my recently published Dancing in the Dark, I got an error message in humongous letters saying "Account Suspended."
Any suggestions or alternatives?
Thanks.
Eric
Same here, Eric. I'm afraid pic hut has gone. I switched to imageshack.com.It'a a bit more involved than pic hut was because you have to sign up with username and password, but it's free if you ignore the "upgrades" and then you can use it just the same as pic hut.
There are probably other hosts, but they are more like pinterest.com, which is a sort of tumblr.
Eric wrote: "Help, please!The only instructions I have for uploading an image to any of the discussions, including my GR blog, is to upload first to www.pichut.eu. That has always worked in the past. Tonight,..."
Same here.
use:
www.imageshack.com
It requires registering but it is free and easy to use.
Happy Graduation Rick! Best of luck in whatever comes next in your life. Congrats!
I must complain that Boyd must be psychic (psychotic?) because that's exactly how I feel right now (although the cap and gown aren't here - I did just get my cords from Sigma Tau Delta, always nice to have a little more flair than everyone else just to set yourself apart). Thanks everyone! Now if I can just survive the next two and a half weeks. ;)
I hate the new lemming mentality engulfing the planet.It started with iCrap and has spread to Google.
I say no! Go Bing!
I naturally deeply regret having to announce that UnBirthday Present will be "live" at AMZ a bit later today (12/6 or as the Brits amongst us would say, 6/12), at USD .99.Here's Enny's marvelous cover, and the stunning owl is by nature photographer Jeff Wendorff.
Royalty Note: 20% of the royalties will be donated to an LGBT organization in my community.
***
Fact: Shifters exist. Werewolves don’t. Fact: If you’re lucky, a shifter will pass by, read you with a touch, a glance, and when he comes back he’ll be in the shape of the man of your dreams...or maybe even a dream you didn’t know you had. Is your fantasy a massive man, massive in every way, bearded and burly, who’ll roughly use you in the alley behind the city’s most popular bar? That will be his change-shape. Is it a man who is sleek, and slender and elegant, and a bit of a slut with superb oral skills? Done. Is it an ordinary man, not all that in shape, a bit of balding, even, but someone to cuddle with afterwards? Done and done. And when the great sex is also done, he’s gone.
Question: Do shifters, nearly immortal since their real shape ages slowly, and their change-shapes not at all, have it made?.
Possibly, if you want an almost-eternity of one-night stands. But what if you want something more? Someone to share all that time with. Except...there’s no sign or signal or symbol or scent to say, “He’s a shifter, too.” Just confession. So do you confess...and take the chance that he’s not a shifter, after all, and you get to watch the man you love slowly die? Confess...and perhaps wind up as a government experiment, if you loved neither wisely nor well?
How much are you willing to risk for love?
Richard and Steven have to decide.
***
14,497 words of actual text.
Hope you'll give it a try.
Eric
I must complain. That is a wonderously beautiful owl. Nice choice!
Lori wrote: "I must complain. That is a wonderously beautiful owl. Nice choice!"Thanks. And to top it all off, though I know nothing about the man personally, I explained to him that I was proposing to use the image as part of the cover for a gay M/M romance (though this one is really a love story), with a donation of part of the proceeds, and he in turn graciously "donated" the royalty fee for using his image.
Of course he's got a really nice blurb in the "Give a Hearty Round of (Cyber) Applause" section...a/k/a Acknowledgments in other folks' books.
So, thanks!
And so, y'all, consider this...for an aggregate expenditure of $11.00 for the 5 books that are now at AMZ, in round figures $6.40 goes to an LGBT non-profit organization.
Hmmmmmmm?
Eric
The poll is now open at:http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.asp...
Loads of categories…. The problem with having two titles in the Best Historical category is splitting the vote, so Oliver and I have opted for Gregory's Story .
However, in the Best Cover category, A Life Apart is on its own (although filed under "L" not "A").
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Would that make it a bit like Felixitations ?