Friskbiskit

Man Candy Monday: Bun Salutation

Yoga is good for you!

Image ganked from Erotic Oddities. Brought to you in conjunction with Erotica Cover Watch.

Flipping Out

Hey, on a whim I stopped by the electronics section at Target today because I've been having technolust for those Flip video cameras w/ the usb attachment built right in, and lo and behold, they had a display model on sale for $75 bucks!  I snagged it, took it home, plugged it in and hey wow, it works!  Check it out:

Rainbow Reviews on Rust Belt

Rust Belt received 4.5 stars from Rainbow Reviews.  Reviewer Lydia had this to say about the story:

"Rust Belt is a very intense story from the beginning and one that will have readers pulling for the characters the whole time."

Here's the link to the full review:

http://www.rainbow-reviews.com/?p=1902

Ameranth & Ash 15: The Last (but not final) Episode

Well, here we are at the last episode of Ameranth & Ash to be posted.  I say last to be posted because, as you'll notice when you read it, this is not the end of the story by any means.  But this rough first draft becomes even more rough, fragmented and sparse after this, so, this seemed like the best place to stop, not to mention that posting only part of the story here improves my chances as I seek publication for the finished product.  And, since my first-choice publisher wants the story off of here when they consider it, I will be taking down all of the Ameranth & Ash episodes next Friday (Nov. 13). 

I want to thank everyone who's followed A&A through this little experiment. Putting unedited first draft material up online was nerve-wracking at times. (Especially that opening scene.  Oy!  I can't tell you how many times I wanted to sneak online in the dead of night and take that down.)  But overall, I found this to be a wonderful way to produce a first draft.  Your suport has really kept me motivated, and I think I'm going to stay motivated through the second draft, because already I'm eager to get this story polished and published so I can share with you how it all comes out.

If you happen to be just tuning in, here's the rundown:

Ameranth is a vasai, born with both male and female characteristics, and the ability to heal. Ash is a chel, a member of the underclass. Ash gets caught where he's not supposed to be and is brutally punished for it, but when Ameranth brings him to his home and heals him, that is really breaking all the rules. What begins as an act of compassion grows into a bond of love and ignites sparks that could set Ameranth and Ash's whole world on fire.

Please note: The Ameranth & Ash segments posted here are from a work in progress.  They are entirely raw, with author's notes, missing names, different versions of the same paragraph, and all manner of grisly error. They also include explicit, non-heteronormative sex, and graphic violence. And you should know that I will not post the whole story in its entirety.  At some point I will stop and pull the existing excerpts in preparation for submitting the work to a publisher. (Update: All Ameranth & Ash episodes will come down next Friday, 11/13/9.)  And now, if I haven't driven you away yet, ;) enjoy!

Ameranth & Ash main page

Ameranth & Ash 15

Submissions Call for New Norilana Books Anthology

The Ladies of Trade Town is a new Norilana Books anthology scheduled for publication April 2011.  From Jan. 5 to June 9, 2010, they will be open to submissions of stories about sex workers and sex work.  Lee Martindale is editing. Norilana has put out some nice anthologies in the past, and they are always open to characters and stories that reflect a wide spectrum of sexual orientations and gender identities.  This looks like it could be a pretty neat collection.  Full submission guidelines are here.

Kim Jong-il Institutes Totalitarian Slash Regime

Here's proof that yaoi will in fact take over the world.  And to think I limited myself to slashing the U.S. cabinet.

This is a fan vid for a Japanese erotic game based on the premise of dating a world leader. And here's more on that game.

Thanks for turning me on to this, Alex.

Pedestal Magazine Spec Flash Fic Issue

So  between now and Dec. 14, Pedestal Magazine is open to submissions for their upcoming Speculative Flash Fiction issue.  They're paying 8¢ a word for science fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream and experimental pieces up to 1000 words.  If you're interested, here's their submission guidelines.

ABA Seeks Dept. of Justice Intervention in Price War

This is old news by now, but in case you didn't know, the American Bookseller's Association has requested that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate pricing schemes by Amazon, Target, and Walmart that it believes to be illegal and predatory.  Here's a link to the letter.

Apparently these three retail giants have been selling best-selling hardcovers for $9 or less. The cover price on these titles, which include works by Stephen King, John Grisham, and James Patterson, range from $35 to $25 dollars.  Typically retailers get a discount of 45-50%, which means that the retailers are eating a significant loss on each title sold.  The letter from the ABA describes the steeply discounted books as loss-leaders for the retailer, and also charges that the three retailers are seeking to monopolize the hardcover bestseller market.

The ABA also says that the current price war between Target, Walmart, and Amazon was kicked off by Amazon pricing electronic editions of new hardcovers at $9.99, and requests that the Dept. of Justice look into that as well.

I'm reserving comment for now, because there are so many conflicting sides to this.  But it should be interesting to see how it pans out.

Man Candy Monday

Again Dotty Pinhole rocks the house with hot guys and cute baby animals.

Brought to you in conjunction with Erotica Cover Watch.

Happy Halloween!

From Erotic Oddities.

Ameranth & Ash 14

Hey, here's the second to the last Ameranth & Ash episode.  Enjoy!

Ameranth is a vasai, born with both male and female characteristics, and the ability to heal. Ash is a chel, a member of the underclass. Ash gets caught where he's not supposed to be and is brutally punished for it, but when Ameranth brings him to his home and heals him, that is really breaking all the rules. What begins as an act of compassion grows into a bond of love and ignites sparks that could set Ameranth and Ash's whole world on fire.

Please note: The Ameranth & Ash segments posted here are from a work in progress.  They are entirely raw, with author's notes, missing names, different versions of the same paragraph, and all manner of grisly error. They also include explicit, non-heteronormative sex, and graphic violence.

Ameranth & Ash main page

Ameranth & Ash 14

Bishie Con

Hey, the midwest has a yaoi convention!  It's called Bishie Con and it's taking place Nov. 20-22 in St. Louis, MO. Guests of honor include Studio Kosen, Amelie Belcher and Katrina Strauss.  Sounds like a party!

eBooks Will Save the World/eBooks Will Destroy Us All

I got a kick out of this article in the NYT, another of the flurry of epublishing stories that accompanied the flurry of new ereaders last week. In particular this p

Such testimonials do not persuade everyone. Many book publishing executives say that e-book sellers like Amazon have a strong interest in heralding a new age of reading, because they must persuade skeptical publishers that a higher sales volume of e-books will offset the eventual loss of profit if the most popular digital editions continue to be sold for $9.99. For now, sellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble subsidize that price.

Some publishers are also not quite willing to accept the notion that books can make a mainstream resurgence.

“Given the fact that people now have the Internet, almost 24-hour football entertainment in the fall, tennis matches from around the world, TV shows out the wazoo, and movies, do you really believe that people are going to be reading more because they can get it on a screen?” said John Sargent, chief executive of Macmillan, owner of imprints like Farrar, Straus and Giroux and St. Martin’s Press. “I don’t see the scenario.”

Well, in the first place, how does selling ebooks, with their lower overhead (no warehouses, no printing, no shipping), for less than $10 constitute taking a loss?  This drives me nuts about print publishers, this business of insisting on charging print prices for ebooks.  As far as I know, they're not passing the commensurate higher profit margin on to their authors in the form of higher royalties.  And frankly, if books are going to remain a mass-market entertainment form, they need to sell for less than $10.  I can be suspicious sometimes, and in this case, I suspect print publishers who want to charge $25 for an ebook really want to kill that ebook.  They want to remain a print-based business. 

Well, there's not necessarily anything wrong with that in and of itself, but what really gets me here is Sargent's quote.  He seems to be capitulating.  He seems to be saying books can't compete in today's entertainment marketplace.  Personally, I don't think screen or printed page is the issue.  I think cost and availability are the issue.  I don't think print and brick and mortar can deliver books in a way that is affordable enough for people to take chances on new authors and that is what makes literature thrive.  I'm thinking about the advent of the blockbuster model in publishing back in the eighties and the way that's played out and I'm wondering, did they already give up on us all the way back then?

eReader Roundup

So last week it seemed like every day someone was unveiling a new electronic book reader.  I was pretty busy at the time, but I saved a bunch of links. 

Of course, you've probably heard about Barnes & Noble's offering by now.  The Nook has some features that could give the Kindle a run for its money.  It has connectivity, which is the big thing.  You can buy books from the B&N site directly on the device.  I can't tell from product descriptions if you can also buy direct from ebook distributor sites like All Romance eBooks and Fictionwise.  That would be a big plus.  I also can't tell if the Nook has an email address so you can send it files as attachments.  That's a feature of the Kindle I simply adore, because it means I can send it my own mss. and stuff. The Nook wins big points from me from a design standpoint.  They have a great selection of cool covers for it, plus optional color backings.  I was playing Barbie ereader on their site within minutes of landing.

CNN offers a rundown of several different ereaders, but many of them don't seem to be widely available in the U.S.

And of course, there's the inexpensive Ectaco jetBook Lite, carving the pricepoint for ereaders down to $150, but with some sacrifices.

The Sony Pocket Edition is priced at $199, another magical consumer price point, and is being advertised on prime time TV.  It gets my vote for ereader most likely to cash in on the Xmas gift-buying season.  Their upcoming Daily Edition model will enter the connectivity fray, duking it out with Kindle and Nook.

Popcorn, anyone?

Man Candy Monday: Rise and Shine

Dotty Pinhole never disappoints.  A guy with a kitten and a boner.  How can you go wrong?

This Man Candy Monday approved by Princess Cheeseball, and posted in conjunction with Erotica Cover Watch.