Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed*
Merith wrote: "In fact, when I was young and impressionable, I really wanted one of those men that were so right (with God, with the world with what-have-you) that I could just give myself over to them and let them rule my life. Now that I'm old and know better, there ain't such an animal."LOL -- this is why I read romance! That's the fantasy, that there is someone perfect for you out there. I'm not saying the Husband isn't perfect for me, it's just that what I thought was perfect in fantasy and what I thought was perfect in reality are different things. I like to revisit the fantasy. :)
ETA: Except I'm not sure about that 'rule my life' thing anymore. I think I edited that out of the fantasy man a while ago.
Anne wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Also, most Asians (with the exception of the Japanese) are very very conservative when it comes to sex. Women who lost their virginity before marriage are still considered second hand..."Glad that things are looking up at China! Let's hope the government doesn't try to squash it. Taiwan is a lot more liberal now. Things are progressing slowly.
I don't have personal experience with Japan, but my yaoi friends tell me there are serious perverted stuff there, although they're underground, but BDSM in Western countries is still underground too, right?
Merith wrote: "Yesterday, I spent some time trying to catch up on reading my Time Magazines. One of the issues (I think it was the April 11th issue) had an article that immediately made me think of it being part ..."Wow, that does sound intriguing.
Becky wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Yup. Either the teroriests have big big mouth or it is "God's will" or whatever, but here I am still annoying you guys. lol."You're not annoying. The flock of geese that are a-honk..."
:D. Perhaps one of the geese is a duck shapeshifter? lol.
Cleon, I'm glad you (and all your neighbors) are still here.
Merith wrote: "Yesterday, I spent some time trying to catch up on reading my Time Magazines. One of the issues (I think it was the April 11th issue) had an article that immediately made me think of it being part ..."Wow, that does sound intriguing.
Dee wrote: "One book we will not be reading is I Will Follow You . An obvious case of a JL Langley book being plagiarized, "Criminals are so stupid sometimes. I spent a month on a grand jury once and it was astonishing how dumb some of them are. The only brilliant criminals are in books. As if no one's going to notice a bestselling author has been plagiarized.
Just finished
today...it's the best Amy Lane book I've read so far...
And now back to the elves
today...it's the best Amy Lane book I've read so far...And now back to the elves
Cleon wrote: "Anne wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Also, most Asians (with the exception of the Japanese) are very very conservative when it comes to sex. Women who lost their virginity before marriage are still considere..."I think things are better, but it's Beijing. In some ways it's a great indicator for what's going on in the rest of the country, but in others it isn't.
I don't know how underground BDSM is, here. I didn't think about it much before I started reading erotica, so I didn't notice it before. Now, I think I've maybe 'detected' it once or twice in the last couple of years. People can be very protective of their sexual identity, even in the fairly liberal city I live in. OTOH, it's not their entire identity, so I guess it would be silly to advertise it all the time....
The only thing that is safe to "copy" are basic plots. How many titles have we read with Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, etc themes that have all been good reads, which the authors have made their own in an interesting way? Look what Kim Dare was able to do with Duck! and the Ugly Duckling story.One book on writing that I read suggested that you pick your favorite movie and use the basic plot for your story. Personally, I'd love to retell the story of "Mists of Avalon" which was a book and a movie. Hmm, maybe some day.
Yeah, plagiarism is stupid. I'd say that writer's career is in the toilet.
Anne wrote: "Cleon, I'm glad you (and all your neighbors) are still here."Me too! I'd be devastated if I were gone before reading all my books or write best seller M/M or M/M/M/M/M/M... smut. lol. Yeah, yeah, sort out your priority, girl! Anyway, I am kind of surprised I am not more frightened by it. I guess we have been all desensitized here.
By the way, I am reading our May read, Dash and Dingo, and err... well, in short, it's boring.
Dee wrote: One book we will not be reading is I Will Follow You (Avatar, #1). An obvious case of a JL Langley book being plagiarized, and Samhain pulled it. See post here - http://www.teddypig.com/2011/04/hello-sa... "
I don't know if this is the saddest or dumbest thing I've seen in a awhile...Probably both...but the publisher not catching this may be the worst part.
I don't know if this is the saddest or dumbest thing I've seen in a awhile...Probably both...but the publisher not catching this may be the worst part.
Dee wrote: "The only thing that is safe to "copy" are basic plots. How many titles have we read with Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, etc themes that have all been good reads, which the authors have made thei..."Would you retell it (Mists of Avalon) as a M/M or some other non-trad combo, (Guinevere, Morgan and Arthur -- you'd hit all the taboos) or just the, um, 'straight' story?
Joan Wolf did an interesting Arthurian trilogy. It's M/F, and a little 'sweet' but I like the non-Arthur stories.
Dee wrote: "Yeah, plagiarism is stupid. I'd say that writer's career is in the toilet."Snort. Or it's all in prison stories.
Actually, I doubt they jail you for plagiarism....
Cleon wrote: "Anne wrote: "Cleon, I'm glad you (and all your neighbors) are still here."Me too! I'd be devastated if I were gone before reading all my books or write best seller M/M or M/M/M/M/M/M... smut. lol..."
Do they let you read in the afterlife? Maybe you'd have more time for it.
Dash and Dingo. Yeah, read it. I actually made it all the way through. Meh.
Lauraadriana wrote: " the publisher not catching this may be the worst part. "I know. Their reputation just went in the toilet. For a while at least.
For the subject of plagiarism, as I said, that author is one of the laziest persons alive.I am writing website content as part time job, and most of the assignments are to write an article on a topic and then rewrite it twice while keeping the content on each paragraph the same, so that the 2 rewritten articles can pass Copyscape test. Rewriting to escape Copyscape test is very very easy. (that is why the pay is very very low too, but hey, the job subsidize my M/M addiction) Change the word order, use thesaurus, change the name, change the scene order, and BAM, you get "original" article/ content. If you;re too lazy to do it yourself, you can even hire someone to do it for you for very low price, esp if you outsource it through online job desk sites.
And the publisher should have run every manuscript they get through Copyscape. The process is automatic and very fast, and the subscription fee is very low for industry standard.
Cleon wrote: "I am reading our May read, Dash and Dingo..."I thought Dash and Dingo was the April read and that today was the day the book discussion was supposed to begin. Three Wrong Turns in the Desert was chosen for May, right?
Anne wrote: "Lauraadriana wrote: " the publisher not catching this may be the worst part. "
I know. Their reputation just went in the toilet. For a while at least."
As well it should...cause seriously...anybody doing any checking over there?
I know. Their reputation just went in the toilet. For a while at least."
As well it should...cause seriously...anybody doing any checking over there?
I just finished my first Kim Dare book
I know many rant about her BBDSM Titles and I'm not sure what I was expecting but an amazingly tender love story wasn't it. Truly enjoyed this book and now I'm reading
Susan wrote: "Cleon wrote: "I am reading our May read, Dash and Dingo..."I thought Dash and Dingo was the April read and that today was the day the book discussion was supposed to begin. Three Wrong Turns i..."
Oops, I mean for April.
S.J.D. wrote: "I just finished my first Kim Dare book I know many rant about her BBDSM Titles and I'm not sure what I was expecting but an amazingly tender love story was..."Actually, she can write a tender loving BDSM relationship. i read
a while back and it is very very sweet and tender. the 3some scene is kind of inappropriate though.
Lauraadriana - I wondered about that myself. If reviewers and Lit teachers are using software to look for plagiarism, why wouldn't a publisher want to do the same to help protect themselves. Certainly they can't count on each of their editors having read everyone's books to be able to catch it. Anne - Actually I gave writing a go a couple of years ago and drafted a m/f/m story, with the premise of "what would Avalon and it's leaders look like today?" I was delighted with the result for a while, but in editing I realized it needed some serious plot adjustments to hold the tension to the end and never went back to fix it. And the two males were twins, which made the love scenes tricky in a menage with brothers. If I ever pick it up again to work on it, I think I would change that.
I love the Arthurian legends. So inspiring.
Susan wrote: "I thought Dash and Dingo was the April read and that today was the day the book discussion was supposed to begin. Three Wrong Turns i..."It is. Anyone going to post their Dingo and Dash thoughts on the April read thread? I'm really, really interested in what your reactions are to this book, given how disparate mine were, compared to the positive feedback it's received on Amazon.
ns wrote: "Susan wrote: "I thought Dash and Dingo was the April read and that today was the day the book discussion was supposed to begin. Three Wrong Turns i..."It is. Anyone going to post their Dingo and..."
I haven't finished it, only 1/3 through the book. I am glad I read it while having nothing else to do while waiting for my sister, or I'll just put it down and play games or rambling here.
Anne wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Anne wrote: "Cleon, I'm glad you (and all your neighbors) are still here."Me too! I'd be devastated if I were gone before reading all my books or write best seller M/M or M/M/M/M/M/..."
Depends on where I'll end up. In heaven, I can probably read all stories without worrying I break my credit cards or I can even read unpublished stories by my favorite authors. (And those hot angels? mm....)
If I end up in hell, maybe they let me read until the cliffhanger and snatch the book away from me. lol.
ns wrote: "Anyone going to post their Dingo and Dash thoughts on the April read thread?"I am also eager to see what the reactions were to this book. I was not one who voted for it, and could not make myself read past the Kindle sample. The subject just did not interest me. But, like you said, with the positive feedback already out there, it will be interesting to see what the readers got from the book.
Cleon, I'm glad to hear you're OK!The good news about the plagiarism is that after following the link and reading both excerpts, I can see that the original was the better written book, and am adding the JL Langley to my to-read list. Hopefully the publicity brings a few new readers her way!
If I end up in hell, maybe they let me read until the cliffhanger and snatch the book away from me. lol. What a great description of hell!
BTW, Lauraadriana, I have to warn you that Counterpoint does this a little bit, ending on a bit of a cliffhanger. It's still a good book, though. I actually liked it better the second time around.
Dee wrote: If reviewers and Lit teachers are using software to look for plagiarism, why wouldn't a publisher want to do the same to help protect themselves. Certainly they can't count on each of their editors having read everyone's books to be able to catch it. "
It's really amazing and it was the EXCERPT!! I do not know how there any justification for that...
It's really amazing and it was the EXCERPT!! I do not know how there any justification for that...
Mod
Jordan, you're correct. The ebook selections are numerous. This is a time where the better choice is to go with the print option. All the stories are in 3 books -
,
and
. Enjoy!
Dee wrote: "Anne - Actually I gave writing a go a couple of years ago and drafted a m/f/m story, with the premise of "what would Avalon and it's leaders look like today?" I was delighted with the result for a while, but in editing I realized it needed some serious plot adjustments to hold the tension to the end and never went back to fix it. And the two males were twins, which made the love scenes tricky in a menage with brothers. If I ever pick it up again to work on it, I think I would change that."If you want to run it by someone, PM me.... I like the Arthurian legends, too, although I'm not that up on them anymore.
ns wrote: "Susan wrote: "I thought Dash and Dingo was the April read and that today was the day the book discussion was supposed to begin. Three Wrong Turns i..."It is. Anyone going to post their Dingo and..."
I'm skipping it -- I read the book last Fall and couldn't be bothered to read it again.
Mod
Awesome! Thanks Susan! That's a great help.
Mod
:-D A new convert every day.
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I have to say this is one of the most fascinating and gripping stories I've read. The romance is fairly neglible, at least at this point, but the story itself is so powerful. I'm not sure when something has captured my imagination like this.
http://blindeyebooks.com/rifter.html
The fact that it's as long as it is (I think it's supposed to be ten installments) fills me with alarm because I fear Hale's going to do terrible, terrible things to these wonderful characters (well, frankly, she's already done terrible things to them) but I can't stop reading, and the thing has haunted me. I truly can't wait for the next installment -- and I don't know when I've felt like that.
I'm filled with envy over both her imagination and her mastery of these really complicated timelines.
Anyway, is anyone else reading along? I think there's even a Rifter group here at Goodreads, although I admit I joined but never had time to check in.
Really, if you like spec fiction, I can't recommend this highly enough.
Mod
btw, for those who care to note, just because I know some of you were worried you'd get confused, I finally updated my headshot to my most recent pic.
I just finished two really great books recently, and now I'm terrified to pick a new book from the piles. I don't know what could top Plakcy and Beecroft at the moment. I'm still living in both those worlds in my head, that's how good they were!
Josh wrote: "I just finished reading the first three books in Ginn Hale's Rifter. This is a spec fiction serial you can subscribe to through the Blind Eye Books website. I have to say this is one of the mos..."
Wow, that's a high recommendation from you, Josh! However, I am also with Jordan and wait until it is all available. The subscription fee is not cheap and with FW sale this month, I've really spent too much than I have to. lol.
Josh wrote: "I just finished reading the first three books in Ginn Hale's Rifter. This is a spec fiction serial you can subscribe to through the Blind Eye Books website. I have to say this is one of the mos..."
I happened to like Hale's Such Heights, so I was trying to find stuff by her (sadly, Wicked Gentlemen isn't available for Kindle). I did order the Rifter series (starting with the prev issue) but that transaction seems to have died somewhere along the way, and while I have the Paypal receipt, I can't actually get my account with Weightless Books going. I'll have to bug them about it again shortly...
Mod
I have to say this is one..."
It's cheaper if you just subscribe to the whole thing because the installments are $3ish apiece, so it's quite a good deal to just sign on for the serial.
Mod
There's no denying it's great popularity in this genre.
Okay, Josh, thank you; you said perfectly what I was trying so hard to say, and much more to the point of what has frustrated me for so many years with gay writers. Often, they're so serious that I'm depressed from page one or they're so flamboyantly silly that nothing is there that I can sink my teeth into. In the former case I felt guilty for not liking it, this obviously earnest discussion of gay life. In the latter, I didn't know what my problem was, but these days I speculate that a lot of the gay "fluff" that came out for a while attempted to be funny while not putting off a straight reader which, in my opinion, was a mistake. At any rate, you said it better than I knew how to. On a different note, if I may, I just finished reading Meant for Each Other by D H Starr. It was only fair; actually began better than it went on. I realized, as I was reading, that I was trying to experience Map of the Harbor Islands again which also tells of a lifelong friendship/love but does it so beautifully. Silly of me. I guess that was like if, say, I picked up a book about a family man/lawyer in the south and thought I would get another To Kill a Mockingbird.
Just finished The Locker Room by Amy Lane and this woman just slays me with her books. This was another book that really touched me and made me cry. I loved it :)
Josh wrote: "I just finished reading the first three books in Ginn Hale's Rifter. This is a spec fiction serial you can subscribe to through the Blind Eye Books website. I have to say this is one of the mos..."
I read the first and loved it, but now I'm going to wait until I have 3 or 4 to read, the waiting is not so much fun.
Mariana wrote: "Just finished The Locker Room by Amy Lane and this woman just slays me with her books. This was another book that really touched me and made me cry. I loved it :)"
OMG Mariana, I LOVED this book!...By far my favorite Amy Lane book, and I absolutely love all her stuff...this book killed me...I LOVED it...Xander and Chris are gonna be on my mind for a long time...
OMG Mariana, I LOVED this book!...By far my favorite Amy Lane book, and I absolutely love all her stuff...this book killed me...I LOVED it...Xander and Chris are gonna be on my mind for a long time...
Lil Grogan, thank you for your gracious reply. You express yourself so well; are you a writer? Is that a stupid question?
Blaine D. wrote: "I've finally started Luck in the Shadows.I've had it sitting on my harddrive for a while, but kept forgetting about it.
I just reached chapter ten and I LOVE it!!!"
I just started it, too. It's been around; I've read the reviews, was unsure. Finally got and started it.
Wow, she's so good, isn't she?, this Flewelling. I can't remember what it was in the reviews that made me hesitate for so long, but I'd love to hear from anyone in this forum who has read the series. Will this love relationship come out of the shadows, so to speak, or will it be assumed or something? I'm very tempted to jump headlong into these books, but I guess I'd appreciate either some encouragement or a headsup.
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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I know very little about Japan -- most of my personal experience is with China -- but I was told by someone that the sexual 'freedom' in Japan is more of the underground type. Like, go ahead and do what you want, but keep it a dirty secret. Is that true, or ist it more open than that?
We were just in China last month, and I was surprised at how far Beijing has come (although it's been almost 17 years since the last time I was there, so my judgment may be whack). The police weren't shutting down gay bars (much) anymore, and teenagers held hands in public.