Well, look at what we have here, apparently RWA have found a way to still stay friends with HQN, after taking away their eligible publisher status in a stand-off akin to the one that took place at the Alamo back in eighteen something or other. I can’t believe it took them so damned long:

Taking into account emerging trends in publishing that may offer opportunities to writers, the task force recommended that RWA adopt methods used by other trade shows and conventions and to shift its method of evaluating publishers as a whole to evaluating publishers by divisions, imprints, or lines.

Under this revised method, RWA will extend invitations to a wide pool of publishers. Invitees may only represent their non-subsidy/non-vanity publishing programs (imprints, divisions, or lines) at RWA’s conference. Space for spotlights, workshops, and booksignings will be allocated to lines, imprints, or divisions that best meet the requirements for “Qualifying Markets.” This new process of evaluation will likely increase opportunities for small presses and e-presses that previously have been excluded.

Of course I’m not surprised, I knew RWA wouldn’t be able to stick to their principles, they need HQN more than HQN needs them. In the words of Mrs G:

RWA 0 – Harlequin 1

I hate to say I told ya so, so I’m just gonna post what my cynical self wrote back in November:

I’m with Mrs Giggles, I wonder how long it will be before the RWA change the terms of publisher eligibility in order to welcome Harlequin back into the fold?

Now let’s wait and see how long it takes before they ‘invite’ HQN back to the fold.

Via Dear Author

I was *this* close to unleash a couple of bitter rants on all of you, when I get this:

Now I’m smiling. Thank you, V, you mood-saver you!

Once again, I had a load of posts on my Google Reader to catch up on, so here are some of the more noteworthy ones.

1. Apparently Avatar has made it to the top spot for the sixth week, and has now grossed $552m in the US, which means that it will probably now eclipse Titanic ($600m ) to become the biggest box office hit ever.
On the other hand, The Lovely Bones isn’t faring so well. It’s possible that people don’t want to watch a film where the main protag is a little girl who was raped and murdered. Shocker.

2. RRRJessica is back from South Africa, and she has pictures.

3. Dear Author has news of more ‘white-washing’ going on at Bloomsbury. Remember the uproar over the cover of Justine Larbalestier’s Liar, and how the black protag somehow took on a white face on the cover? Well it seems that this is becoming a trend. Bloomsbury seems to hate black people on covers. The book that has been white-washed this time is Jaclyn Dolamore’s Magic Under Glass. (more…)

Last week over here in England, two young brothers were jailed for subjecting two other boys, aged nine and eleven to a prolonged brutal attack. The boys themselves were aged ten and eleven at the time.

This is an excerpt of a news report about the attack from September 2009

Two young brothers are facing life in custody for beating, burning and sexually assaulting two boys aged nine and 11. (more…)

As some of you may remember, I recently opened an Etsy store…

[shameless plug]

[/shameless plug]

*cough*

Erm… Yes. Anyway…

Naturally, I spend a bit of time over there, drooling over many wondrous and wonderful things. It was during one of these ah… periods of contemplation, that I discovered an amazing store…

Be warned that you are likely to spend a long time there, and as likely to come back repeatedly to admire the stock. Don’t blame me for the time suck, okay?

The store name is abitabite and below is an example of her stock. (more…)

The following is a non-specific but repeated conversation between authors and their adoring public (aka fangirls of both the crazy and not-so-crazy varieties):

Reader to writer: Oh, I love your work!

Writer to reader: Thank you so much, I’m glad to know that.

Reader to writer: Yes, I’ve read everything of yours—twice—and I’ve been waiting to find out what happens to/with character (fill in the blank)

Writer to reader: Thank you…

Reader to writer: You know, you should write faster, dammit, I want to know what happens in the next book of the series! Now!

Writer to reader: I am writing, as fast as I can!

Reader to writer: Oh no, you are not—look, the last book came out six months ago, where’s the next one????

Writer: …..

The thing is (more…)

In compliance with FTC guidelines, be aware that I bought this book.

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Atlantis Unmasked, by Alyssa Day

The latest entry in Ms Day’s Warriors of Poseidon series, Atlantis Unmasked follows Atlantean warrior Alexios and rebel fighter Grace—who just happens to be a descendant of Diana the Greek goddess. If that seems a bit confusing, it’s because this is one of those series where reading previous installments is pretty much required—between recurring characters and on going story arcs, a newcomer to this universe would scratch her head a number of times while reading this one.

In other words: beware for series spoilage, ye Warriors of Poseidon virgins out there!

(For those readers out there who don’t mind jumping in the middle, you crazy people you, I’ll add a brief primer to the universe after the blurb, as well as linking to my reviews of the previous titles at the end of this one.)

Humdrum back cover blurb ahoy: (more…)

When a man makes a point of telling you, “I am the most intelligent man/person you’ll ever meet,” he may or may not be right about his intelligence; but the fact that he felt compelled to point it out rather than simply being (show,  not tell) says volumes more about his character than his self-proclaimed brilliance.

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This observation may seem a tad sexist, but it’s based on the fact that in 44 years I’ve yet to hear a woman say this, while I’ve met my share of men who have.

This was a question that Bonnie Dee posed to me the other day, and my answer is…I’m not sure.

Bonnie wrote in an email to me:

… I realize m/m romances haven’t made strong inroads into brick and mortar stores, so the question might not apply there. I actually have no idea where they’re shelved in a regular bookstore. The question arose from my own website. I was redesigning my backlist library, which is separated by genre since I write in many different ones.

I realized I had the m/m books in a group of their own even though the titles could be classified under scifi/fantasy, contemporary and anthology (and soon some historicals). I started to consider whether I shouldn’t shelve them with their correct genre, but it doesn’t seem to make sense since some readers are specifically looking for same sex books. Why make it hard for them to locate them?

Anyway, that’s what brought to mind the whole issue of separation by shelving and what it says about the way we view certain groups, whether it be by race or sexual orientation. When is it all right to group separately as simply a sensible business move and when is it insensitive?

Certainly it would be easier for MM readers to find MM books if they were shelved separately, but isn’t that the same argument that people use in the shelving-by-colour debate? Doesn’t this otherise (made-up word alert!) gay and lesbian relationships, and how is segregating by sexual preference any different to segregating by colour?

I would love to ruminate longer on this, but quite frankly, I don’t have the time right now, so I’ll open the floor to you guys. What do you think? Does it genuinely make good business sense to shelve gay romance books separately?

Seven women skied their way from the coast of Antarctica to the geographical South Pole in 38 days. No guide, no strong man (or dogs) to carry or drag their supplies. Seven women.

Three of the seven where the first person from their country to reach the South Pole,  and two more were the first women from their country. Only the two Brits (one of whom was a last minute replacement for the Ghanaian woman who, sadly, contracted malaria shortly before the date set for the expedition) come from a country where women have accomplished such a feat repeatedly.

From their website:

Marking the 60th aniversary of the Commonwealth, the expedition aims to demonstrate the potential of greater intercultural understanding and exchange, while at the same time highlighting the achievements of women across the world.

So first and foremost: kudos to each and everyone of these women, for braving the gauntlet and succeeding so brilliantly in their mission.

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Now… the rant. (more…)