Category: dearauthor.com

Did DearAuthor.com Lose Credibility? School Coach Fired For Hate Tweet About Pizza Jerks; Doris Day’s Last Visit With Rock Hudson

Did DearAuthor.com Lose Credibility?

One of the reasons why I rarely do book reviews here is because I’m a published author and a blogger.  As an author and blogger I don’t want my readers to think I’m in collusion with other authors or publishers to promote or solicit books. I also don’t want to cross the lines. I have always believed that reviews are for readers, not for authors. I think the last book I reviewed here was James Franco’s Actors Anonymous. I don’t know Franco, nor do I ever want to know him.

I also blog for free, without ads, because I believe the spirit in personal blogging is not for profit in a broad sense. The only books I promote here are my own. And most of the time I fall short in that department, too.

Rhetorically speaking, I couldn’t help wonder if the romance review site, DearAuthor.com, has lost credibility since the disclosure that the owner of the blog, a woman (I don’t believe in doxxing either) who goes by the pen name of “Jane Litte,” has been writing and getting New Adult genre books published under another pen name, “Jen Frederick.” What happened with “Jane Litte” and her disclosure about “Jen Frederick” goes quite a bit deeper than a pen name.

I’m not going to get into all that here, mainly because I’d like to remain objective. Most people already know the story and for those who don’t there are plenty of links out there with a simple search. This particular link to a blog titled The Passive Voice gets more involved, and there are comments you might find interesting…or not. 

I’m just wondering, once again rhetorically speaking, if any book review blog can continue to maintain the same credibility it once had after something like this. And, can the contributors associated with that blog continue to remain credible? There are no easy answers at this point. In many cases DearAuthor.com does more than just review books. I can’t add any personal comments here because I truly believe that only time will tell in this case.

We do tend to be a culture that forgives. It’s what we do.

 School Coach Fired For Hate Tweet About Pizza Jerks

This is an ironic twist, for certain. When the owners of Memories Pizza in Indiana made the announcement they would not cater a gay wedding because of their religious convictions, a high school coach tweeted something that got her fired.

She said: ‘Who’s going to Walkerton, IN to burn down #memoriespizza w me? Agree with #FreedomofReligion bill? “That’s a lifestyle they CHOOSE” Ignorant.’

The next day, Dooley told school officials about the tweet and how it was receiving negative attention online.

‘The promotion of harmful, illegal activity to Concord Schools’ students by a lay coach is unacceptable,’ Concord Community Schools’ Superintendant Wayne Stubbs said in a statement yesterday (21 April).

‘Concord Schools thanks Ms. Dooley for the services that she provided as a lay high school coach during the past few years.

‘She has learned a difficult lesson concerning the incorrect use of electronic communications. Unfortunately, too often electronic communications are sent without the sender fully appreciating the potentially harmful effect of that message.

I hate to speculate on things like this, but if you know Twitter and you know how people Tweet I would say the odds are that Dooley had no intentions of ever going anywhere with a torch in her hand. I would highly doubt she ever intended to harm anyone or anything, let alone burn down some trashy pizza joint no one cares about.

However, last night someone I follow posted a short video of himself practicing old west gun techniques. You know, how they spin the guns and throw them up in the air. That was all in fun, without political or social motivation. But the PC police sent him PMs attacking him for promoting guns and violence…which he was NOT doing at all.

The point is that you can’t trust anything anymore. Watch what you tweet, post, or put in writing anywhere online. Watch what you text or e-mail. It could wind up changing your life more than you thought it would.

You can read more about Dooley here. 

Doris Day’s Last Visit With Rock Hudson

Doris Day and Rock Hudson made many films together in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Hudson died of AIDS during the height of the AIDS epidemic and shocked the world when we discovered America’s leading man was actually gay. Doris Day has been out of the spotlight for probably more years than she was in it. Evidently, she’s 91 years old now and talking about her last visit with Rock Hudson.

‘He was very sick. But I just brushed that off and I came out and put my arms around him and said “Am I glad to see you,”‘ she tells People Magazine.

Even though he was dying of complications from AIDS during that final visit in 1985, Hudson kept his promise to appear in the premiere episode of Day’s new talk show.

‘He’d get very tired,’ she recalls of his visit to Carmel in California where she lives and where the show was taped.

‘I’d bring him his lunch and fix him a big platter but he couldn’t eat. I’d say “What if I get a fork and feed you” but he said “Doris I can’t eat.”‘

There’s more here, with a video of them both. 

Release Day: Too Hard to Handle; Gay Prison Sex; Philly Gay Bashing Suspects; Most Evil Women in History;

Release Day: Too Hard to Handle

Another book in the Glendora Hill series, Too Hard to Handle, is coming out tomorrow (I hope) and I’ll post the links as I get them. I know I’ve explained before how the launch of e-books can get tricky sometimes and it’s not like the release day of a print book where they unpack the boxes and set the books up on shelves. I’ve had release days with digital books where servers have done down, web sites have crashed, and sometimes larger places like Amazon just take their time. On the rare occasion, everyday life can hinder a launch if someone gets sick. It happens and I’ve learned to expect anything. But I will update with all the info as I get it, and you can always e-mail me with questions. My e-mail is on the sidebar in the about section.

This particular book in the series was interesting to write because the entire book is told from Sebastian’s son’s POV. This is a stand alone and it can be read alone, but in conjunction with the series it picks up after Kick’s rough trade boyfriend has a motorcycle accident. I can’t say anymore without spoilers.

Publisher Purchase Link $4.99 (always cheaper at the publisher)

Purchase Link to Allromanceebooks.com


Gay Prison Sex

This article is fascinating because it debunks the age old concept that gay prison sex almost always involves forced rape. Frankly, I could live without the left wing commentary, but the topic in general is on target with regard to the dynamics about how gay prison sex actually works.

It’s complicated in the sense that there is rape culture involved in some cases, at least a certain kind of rape culture with respect to men this time. It comes through intimidation, victimization, and in the simplest form, bullying. But there are a few different dynamics that a lot of people don’t know about. I’ve actually heard this discussed before and everything adds up.

Here’s an excerpt from the article, from a book titled, A Gentleman’s Guide to Sex in Prison.

Openly gay men are not as oppressed as one might fear. The feminine ones are often desired, and there is quite a bit of prostitution going on. I once saw oral sex performed in exchange for two cigarettes and a honey bun, a bargain offered by Dirty Tommy, who told people he had “the AIDS” as soon as they met him. There are many transsexuals (still called “shemales” in the system), especially in the maxes, for some reason. Some truly look like women, and as a consequence they are well taken care of by their admirers. Others just look like men with breast implants. There was one called Grandma who was quite a fright, but apparently had customers anyway, because his dentures came out. The old-timers call these guys “lizards” and have nothing to do with them, but the younger guys who grew up with Will and Grace and so forth are more easygoing about it.

You can read the rest here. Considering the highly controversial gay prison sex fantasy in adult entertainment, it’s a topic that is not without controversy…as you will see from the comment thread.

Philly Gay Bashing Suspects

Here’s more about the suspects that turned themselves in with regard to the gay bashing incident in Philadelphia last week that went viral nationwide. So far, three have turned themselves in and I’m not sure whether or not there will be more. One of them is the daughter of a police chief in Chalfont, PA…only about six miles away from where we live in New Hope. I know Chalfont is gay friendly because I have gay friends who live there. It’s not as progressive or artistic as New Hope, but the suspect is not a reflection on her community.

Here’s something about the woman charged, Kathryn Knott, who is the one from Chalfont, PA.

A Twitter account listed as belonging to Kathryn Knott, 24, who surrendered to authorities Wednesday along with Phillip Williams, 24, and Kevin Harrigan, 26, not only shows confidential photos of patients’ X-rays while working in an emergency room but tweets about getting drunk and “ew” gays.

“the ppl we were just dancing with just turned and [made] out with [each] other #gay #ew,” Knott tweeted in March, 2012.

She additionally appears to have used homophobic hashtags like #dyke and described a taxi cab driver as “shouting some jihad s–t,” according to a collection of tweets posted on website,

Neighbors were questioned and refused to comment, other than saying they weren’t surprised to hear she’s part of this.

You can read more here, where there are photos of the two young men charged. I would like to think this will set an example to the rest of the bullies out there who have something against gays. Be afraid. That’s right. We deserve to walk down the street anywhere in America without having to worry about getting beaten, bashed, or called names.

Most Evil Women in History

Men always seem to get the most attention when it comes to crime and the most vicious acts in society. In an ironic sense, women criminals are often discriminated against. I think that should be balanced out. In an attempt to disabuse people of this sexist stereotype, this next link will lead you to photos of some of the most evil women in history. These women are more along the lines of Mary Ann Cotton, the old fashioned killers who went after people with their own names. I thought it was interesting.

When Mary Ann found out that she would receive payments for the death of a family member, she wasted no time. She murdered 21 people via arsenic poisoning, 12 of which were her own children. She also killed several husbands and even her own mother just to make a quick buck.

You can see the rest here.

Daddies and Twinks; New Titanic Info; Gay Porn Stars and Mean Tweets; Deadly Kinky Sex

Daddies and Twinks

As long as I’ve been gay the dad and twink deal has been going on in full force. There are books, films, adult material, and now these photos of dads and twinks. They prove that twinks aren’t the only ones with hot bodies, especially nowadays.

Farhad Z had everyone hot and bothered this week in the new red, white, and blue FU e=fu8 underwear collection. The sexy, 43-year-old put his younger male colleagues to shame in skin tight underpants, proving that you don’t need to be in your 20′s to look hot in a speedo.

You can read more here, and view photos of twinks and dads with great bodies wearing nothing but speedos. I know a lot of people worry about body image these days, but it’s all a matter of taste in the end.

New Titanic Info

I’ve always been interested in the Edwardian Era, which is one reason why I wrote Unmentionable: The Men Who Loved on the Titanic. There was very little information I could research about gay men, because gay men during that time were either treated as criminals or considered mentally unstable. For many the sinking of the Titanic signified the end of that era…there are arguments, but that’s not the point now. There’s new information about the sinking of the Titanic I thought was interesting enough to share.

It was proven long ago that the Titanic sank because it hit a giant iceberg. New research shows there could be a bit more to one of the most famous stories in history.

You can read more here, and watch a video.

Unmentionable: The Men Who Loved on the Tiantic by Ryan Field. Amazon Link

It’s a .99 e-book.

Gay Porn Stars and Mean Tweets

One of the biggest downfalls of social media is that there’s an aspect of meanness, where people who are inherently mean take advantage of a chance to strike out at others without having to look them in the face. A few years back it happened to a publisher and a few romance authors I know. This one particular web site known for mean girl tactics, put on a social media event of sorts where they literally ripped erotic romance books and authors to shreds on twitter every Friday night. It’s still about the worst thing I’ve ever seen from Internet social media bullies to date. And even though this story about porn stars is unrelated, this sort of low-end bully tactic is still happening today in many places, and now it’s happening with porn stars on Twitter.

If you write mean tweets about Paddy O’Brian, Dirk Caber, and Colby Keller, there’s a chance those boys might actually see them, as evidenced by a new video from Men.com.

The video features some of our favorite naked eye-candies scrolling through Twitter to read some awfully harsh reviews.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing comes with the territory of putting yourself out there in any capacity these days. And it’s something you just have to get used to and deal with on your own terms because crying about it will only make the mean fuckers happier in the end. Crying about it doesn’t make it go away and it doesn’t make it any better. I hate to say this, I don’t like mean tactics like this, but put on those proverbial big boy pants and grow up. Criticism of all kinds come with the territory.

This one comment makes the most sense:

And, doesn’t having performers read nasty comments encourage people to leave nasty comments?

You can read more here.

Deadly Kinky Sex

This is something that’s rarely talked about, but I actually did write about it in my most recent book in the Glendora Hill series. I’ll post more about that when the book comes out. But I wanted to get into the topic in fiction to show people how dangerous it can be. It’s called erotic asphyxiation.

Diaz stood behind Canul-Arguello, choking the young man while at the same time rubbing his penis against his butthole. When Canul-Arguello asked to be choked “a little bit harder,” Diaz obliged.
Then, “at a certain point, he stopped moving,” he said.

Diaz let go of Canul-Arguello, whose lifeless body dropped to the ground. He tried to resuscitate him but was unsuccessful. In a flight of panic, he dragged the body next to a nearby recycling bin then lit the can ablaze in an effort to “signal for help.” Then he pulled a fire alarm and called 911 about the fire before fleeing the scene.

You can read more here about how this is being treated in court.

But, there is a little more to the story at this link. I think the jury is still deliberating on this one.

Diaz, a 25-year-old San Francisco resident from Mexico, has been charged with murdering Freddy Roberto Canul-Arguello and then mutilating his body by allegedly lighting a recycling bin on fire, which torched much of Canul-Arguello’s body.

Hugh Howey at DearAuthor; Miss Kentucky Was Queer; God Punishes Gays

Hugh Howey at DearAuthor

When I was in college, I took a chemistry requirement in the summer. On the first day of class, the professor walked into the room, dropped her briefcase, and said, “I’d like to inform you that if you have part time jobs you’re going to have to quit in order to keep up with this class because I’m the most demanding professor in this department. If that’s an issue with anyone, feel free to leave right now.” I looked around the lecture room at all the terrified faces, grabbed my books, and stood up. As I turned to leave I smiled at the professor and just kept walking toward the door. I dropped that summer course, picked it up the following September with another professor I knew I wouldn’t have an issue with, and I received an A. I learned early that some people, like that condescending professor in the summer course, tend to make life more difficult than it has to be.

As I was reading a blog post at the DearAuthor web site, it reminded me of that story and that professor. The post is titled, Is Genre Fiction Creating a Market for Lemons? It’s a highly subjective (opinionated) piece written with an elitist academic voice that discusses self-published books, book reviews, and book prices. And while I agree with many of the points made, I found it a little insulting in a “sui generis” way and I doubt most of the people reading genre fiction today would even bother to finish it, which is unfortunate. In other words, I could have just said I found it insulting in a “unique” way, but used “sui generis” to either impress you or make you feel stupid. Because, you know, I went to college and I have them big time degrees hanging on my wall.

In any event, I think you get my point. But the post does get interesting when the author brings up Hugh Howey’s books. It doesn’t get easier to read; just interesting. It’s a clever passive aggressive approach that at one point questions Amazon reviews and the quality of reviews. Again, it’s subjective and in a way it points out some of the issues I’ve posted about previously with regard to all reviews in a general sense. Just look at the reviews I’ve posted about for the TV show, Looking, and the various ways so many gay men have received the show. When I reviewed a review of Looking I wanted to point this out clearly. I also find that the reviews for Looking are honest and balanced…even though I don’t agree with them all. That honesty and balance I find with Looking reviews doesn’t always happen for me with Amazon reviews.

If you can manage to get through the entire DA post, you’ll find a very interesting comment thread where author, Hugh Howey, replies to the author of the post in that humble, down-home, honest way he has that could melt proverbial butter. One comment he made in particular made me read twice:

I remember thinking, when my reviews hit 3,000+ and the book still had a 5-star average, that this was getting ridiculous, and could it please stop. It was a great relief to see the average fall to 4.5 stars, which was less obnoxious.

Talk about sui generis. I can only say that I have worked in publishing for over twenty years. I have best friends who have worked in publishing for over forty years. And I have never once, not in all that time, heard anyone say they wish they had less good reviews. And that’s because I have never seen anyone get only good reviews. Never. Most reviews for most books are always balanced…or at least somewhat balanced. If you don’t believe me hop over to goodreads and check out the reviews for Pulitzer Prize winning authors like Anne Tyler.

There are also a few comments on the thread left by the always graceful romance author, Courtney Milan, who has a gift for balancing the most subjective topics in the most elegant, civil ways.

You can read the entire piece here. I think it’s worth the time and effort just to read the comment thread alone. And, for the record, in spite of my own snark, I don’t disagree with the post by any means. I just wish it had been written with less condescension and more to the point. Because the topic is something we’re all dealing with now: authors, self-published authors, publishers, and readers. Most of us are not happy about it.

God Punishes Gays

Lately, there seems to be something more outrageous in the news as each day passes. This time it’s about a pastor in Tennessee who thinks God punishes gays and lesbians by making them effeminate or mannish. Ugh!

‘God turning people over to their own desires, men lusting after men, women after women, and they receive in their own bodies the penalties for their sin,’ he says, as Right Wing Watch first reported.

 ‘I have watched people go into a lifestyle, and all of a sudden they become…a man starts to become very effeminate – mannerisms, speech.

‘I’ve seen the reverse, I’ve seen the same thing with women [who] start becoming mannish.

‘What’s going on? They’re taking in their bodies a penalty for deviating from God’s loving design and plan.’

You can read more here. This one is pretty self-explanatory. I just feel sorry for the people who believe this guy.

Miss Kentucky Was Queer

In a piece that directly negates the above post with regard to effeminate and mannish gays, a former Miss Kentucky recently came out and said she’s queer.

Her passion has been really ‘fueled’ by a federal judge, who ordered the state of Kentucky to recognize same-sex marriages on Thursday (27 February). ]

As a child, Trent describes how she couldn’t understand why God made her ‘wrong’.

She said she was scared her family members were going to walk out of her life if she were to admit she is queer.

She’s absolutely beautiful, on the inside and out.

You can read more here.