Amazon discontinued the ability to create images using their SiteStripe feature and in their infinite wisdom broke all previously created images on 12/31/23. Many blogs used this feature, including this one. Expect my archives to be a hot mess of broken book cover images until I can slowly comb through 20 years of archives to make corrections.

Saturday, November 7, 2015

This, That, The Other

As you can tell by the lack of activity, my life has been somewhat nutty of late.  The Too-Long-Didn't-Read Version = Work, Work, School, Work, Sleep, Exhausted, School, Work, Work.  Also my reading as slowed down to....what's slower than a snail?  A dead snail?  Yeah, that slow.  So, what's going on besides me whining?  Well, stuff.

+++++

Hey, did you know I still post a monthly Unusual Historicals column over at Heroes & Heartbreakers?  Here's the latest one featuring October titles.  Go forth!  Find something good to read!

+++++

Way back in May I was asked to do a webinar, geared towards librarians, on the romance genre - and now it's been posted online. So that explains why the "upcoming releases" section is kind of dated now.  Anyway, it's there.  Not sure it will be of much interest to romance readers as again - geared towards librarians - but if you want to know why I don't think LGBT or Multicultural are separate sub genres, it's kind of illuminating.  I guess.  Maybe.  OK, maybe not.

Also, yes - I use the dreaded BR word.  I know I just did a post railing against the adoption of the word "smut" by authors and readers, but I'm surprisingly cool with "bodice ripper" when it's used correctly (which it rarely is).  To me it describes a very specific moment in genre history and a very specific "type" of historical.  And since I whipped out the BR word when taking about genre history?  Yeah, well - that explains that.  But folks disagree with me on usage of the dreaded term in even this limited context and to each her own. 

+++++

This is old news that I didn't blog about at the time because, see opening paragraph - but Dear Author/Jane Litte and Ellora's Cave have settled the defamation suit that's been dragging on in the Ohio courts for the past year.  After my initial post I haven't blogged about this - mostly because I didn't feel comfortable enough with all the legal mumbo-jumbo to do so.  Others have blogged throughout however, and for a recap of the settlement (as much as there can be a recap) - I'll direct you to this post at Dierdre Saoirse Moen's blog.

So what does this mean?  We'll likely never know because - you know - settlement.  Here's the positive: I'm happy for Jane (and her family) that the suit is over and I hope she's happy with whatever terms the settlement laid out.

What I'm disappointed about?  That so many authors are still left twisting in the breeze.  It was probably unrealistic to think that this lawsuit would somehow generate satisfaction for them (also, I think it was unfair to expect Jane to fall on that particular sword), but that doesn't mean there wasn't some hope.  What does this mean for them?  Who knows at this point.  But I think it's going to get messier before it gets better and frankly that's no good for anybody (including readers).

I'm also disappointed that the settlement has reactivated troll activity (avoid at all costs people) and that my own feelings regarding the online romance community have taken a hit during this whole affair.  Little Miss Crabby Pants hasn't been this vocal well....ever.  And I don't know if that's because I've changed (is it possible - have I gotten THAT much older and crotchety-er?), my wee corner of the community has changed, or I was simply naïve before and had my tiny bubble of optimism popped?  Maybe all of the above.

What does this mean for me moving forward?  God, I don't know.  I'm going to do my best to focus on books, finding my reading mojo, talking about books, and trying not to get sucked into drama.  Which is hard - because typically I only wade in when I get pushed over the edge.  People, y'all need to stop pushing me over the edge. 

So for me it's head down, back to work, and trying to find some sort of reading mojo.  Oh where, oh where could it be?

3 comments:

azteclady said...

(((Wendy)))

Here is hoping you find your reading mojo soonest. If, while you look for it, you happen to find mine, I would appreciate a word. ;-)

And no, I don't think you've changed that much; I think the culprit here is how social media has changed, allowing for a faster, and everlasting, way for people to show their ass in public.

Lori said...

I think azteclady is correct that the issue is not with you, it's with the way social media magnifies people's ass-flashing. Not only do people show their asses faster & forever, they show it to everyone. The fact that small dust-ups can and do become huge social media storms at the drop of a hat inevitably changes perceptions. I'm not on most social media and in the last few months of dropped most of what I did read because it just wasn't good for my mental health.

Any way, I hope that your schedule soon allows you to get your reading mojo back. I'm especially sympathetic because I'm suffering from my own version of your situation. I recently started a new job at a library and I love it, but it's killed my reading. That's just not right.

Deirdre Saoirse Moen said...

Thanks for the link!

The Ellora's Cave/Dear Author case settled, but it hasn't finalized, so it's still an open case. This has been dragging on for three weeks, and I hope that part's over soon. Even so, there's still Ann Joseph's motion on the table, and I've heard rumblings that others are going to join her in her suit.

The most recent book I've read is Strictly Business by Sheryl Nantus, and it was excellent. It's about a domme who's lost a lot of self-confidence after her sub left her for someone else, and finding a match…with complications, of course!