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First of all, let me say that I am very saddened by the election in Maine. Yes, it makes me very sad that the majority of voters there can sleep at night after having voted away basic human rights. Having clarified that, here is what I don’t get.
Since the election, I have heard (mostly from the gay press) a lot of blame against President Obama. They are saying Maine is partially his fault because he didn’t take a stand and tell people to vote no on proposition 1. Excuse me? Are you folks serious? Think back a minute. Do you remember the Presidential election campaign? President Obama was asked point-blank if he supported gay marriage. The answer was NO! He qualified it by saying he supported full domestic partnerships, but he did not support changing the law to legalize gay marriage. We elected him (and rightly so) on that platform that he would support gay rights but not gay marriage. And now we feel he has somehow betrayed us because he didn't tell the people to vote contrary to his own platform? I’m sorry, but that is not fucking fair. He has betrayed no one. He continually shows support for gay rights issues; he was instrumental in getting the first ever pro-gay federal legislation in a hate-crimes bill; and he has pledged to repeal don’t-ask-don’t-tell.
He’s doing a great job under unbelievable opposition and if he’s broken any gay-related campaign promises, you’ll have to fill me in, because I’m unaware of them. Try and remember folks, Presidents aren’t monarchs. They can’t waive their scepters and decree a new law of the land. They are bound by the Constitution.
’Nuff said.
Cheyenne Publishing and Bristlecone Pine Press are doing a special promotion on Thursday November 5th to promote Hidden Conflict: Tales from Lost Voices in Battle and Speak Its Name: A Trilogy. To read excerpts from the two anthologies, watch the book trailer, or to get details on how to enter the drawings to win some really cool prizes, visit The Kindle Boards or Speak Its Name Yahoo Group Bristlecone Pine Press will give away a free eBook of each title, and Cheyenne Publishing has a brand new paperback of Hidden Conflict with a bookplate signed by all four authors, and a paperback copy of Speak Its Name with a bookplate signed by all three authors. Everyone who enters the drawings will be eligible to win Hidden Conflict bookmarks. Come on by for full details on how to enter.
Just in case anybody missed it, Hidden Conflict: Tales from Lost Voices in Battle is now out in print and the eBook will be available shortly from Bristlecone Pine Press.
I’m honored that our very first review is from the esteemed “Godfather of gay fiction,” Victor J. Banis, and it is a very favorable review. Thank you, Victor. It means a lot to me getting this praise from you!
Funny story. I was having a conversation with some friends in a coffeeshop. They were talking about a guy they knew from high school who now dresses up in women’s clothes. I said, “Oh, he’s a transvestite.” They immediately said, “Oh no, nothing like that, he’s just more of a cross-dresser.” Seriously. I had to hold my tongue and not be a smart-ass.
I must say I am very depressed over the turn of events regarding gay marriage in this country. There is a very organized group that has made it their mission to overturn every state’s newly acquired gay marriage protections by referendum. Most recently Maine’s new gay marriage law will be put on hold now that they have collected enough signatures to put it on the November ballot. Even in my home state of Washington, where the legislature recently expanded domestic partnerships, a referendum vote is going on the ballot to try and overturn that measure.
My question is why do these people care whether or not I have the right to marry? As far as I know, it is unprecedented for voters to step in to take away human rights. Can you imagine a referendum taking away the right to marry from any other minority group? It wouldn’t be tolerated. Perhaps it is time for marriage equality to be established at the national level. A constitutional amendment that would make it the law of the land and no state referendum could touch it. It really is disheartening that our fellow Americans are choosing to treat us with such disdain.
Threre are two publishing projects that are donating a portion of their proceeds to the fight for marriage equality:
I Do: An anthology in support of marriage equality from MLR Press
and Taming Groomzilla by E. N. Holland from Bristlecone Pine Press
I have just purchased both titles.
Mark
Out of curiosity I perused his website just to see where he was coming from. Yes, as it so happens I came from a religious family and a Protestant religion that was pretty close to Mr. Anderson’s. They also believed in a very literal interpretation of the King James Version of The Bible. As a teenager I was subjugated to hellfire-and-brimstone sermons and was told not only that homosexuality was an abomination, but also that homosexuals were possessed by the devil himself. The preachers I grew up listening to also condemned politicians for their corruption, but never went so far as to pray for their deaths. They also never used pejorative language for homosexuals, though they might as well have considering the condemnation they heaped upon them.
Luckily I had a strong spirit and soon realized it was possible to actually think for myself, so I discovered how very wrong they were – the public library and some psychology and sociology classes in college taught me that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. I made my escape and found my own form of salvation – one they can’t possibly understand.
Since I left the church, I never looked back. I honestly don’t know if the particular religion I was raised in has evolved or if it has amended any of its extremist views. I don’t hate the church and I certainly don’t wish them any harm. I only wish they would wake up and see the harm they are doing. I wish they could put themselves in the shoes of the impressionable children who happen to be gay that are sitting in their pews. Children who are being taught to hate themselves for something over which they are faultless, and in desperation might even go so far as to kill themselves because their preacher tells them homosexuals deserve to die.
Here is the lineup:
Tuesday Publisher interview, Author spotlights for Erastes and Lee Rowan and chats about the three new releases.
Wednesday Publisher interview, spotlights on Eye of the Storm, and Speak Its Name Trllogy
Friday Information about upcoming projects from Cheyenne Publishing and Bristlecone Pine Press including Hidden Conflict: Tales of Lost Voices from Battle - and finally some of the authors will be giving away tee-shirts and other prizes!
Hope to see you all there!
After you have perhaps spent years laboring over your beloved novel and are seeking publication, do yourself a favor and FOLLOW THE SUBMISSION RULES clearly stated on the publisher’s website. If it says you may send a query letter, but please do not send unsolicited manuscripts, then guess what Einstein, emailing a copy of the manuscript is going to accomplish one thing – making the publisher pissed off at you for not heeding the clearly stated warning. Not only will he NOT read your manuscript, he will be disinclined to consider your work if you should properly query him later. Those following the rules will have their query letters carefully considered, and (A) be invited to submit a sample of the work or (B) get a very polite letter in return explaining why their work is not right for the publisher. Not following the rules will result in NO REPLY to your submission and a ranty blog post on Live Journal.
There, I feel better now.
First draft of Not to Reason Why is complete! I know most writers write at a much faster pace than I do; sometimes hundreds if not thousands of words per day. Well I’ve finally finished the first draft of my novella taking approximately five months to write 20,000 words. Now I’ll spend a few weeks polishing it up and then it’s off to the editor. The other three stories in the anthology Hidden Conflict: Tales from Lost Voices in Battle were finished ahead of mine though none have as yet entered the editorial process.
If you haven’t yet seen the cover art, here it is:
And by the way, I'm nearly half-way through reading Alex Beecroft's "False Colors." If you haven't yet picked this up, do so now! It is marvelous. Her knowledge of 18th century Navy life is staggering! It really is an incredibly well-written book.
Well folks I’ve been sitting on these announcements for some time because I’ve been waiting for all the contractual paperwork to come through and then for the website to be updated, but here goes:
Cheyenne Publishing has picked up 9 new books to be published within the next year. Check out the all-new revamped Cheyenne Publishing website. I was lucky enough to snag two authors from Linden Bay Romance which was bought by Samhain last year. In addition to that, I also signed Hayden Thorne with a new YA historical with a German Christmas theme. Here is the list with the planned release dates.
Frost Fair by Erastes – August
Ransom by Lee Rowan (Royal Navy Series Book 1) – August
Winds of Change by Lee Rowan (Royal Navy Series Book 2) – August
Eye of the Storm by Lee Rowan (Royal Navy Series Book 3) – September
Speak Its Name: A Trilogy by Charlie Cochrane, Lee Rowan & Erastes – October
Walking Wounded by Lee Rowan – December
Home is the Sailor by Lee Rowan (All New Entry in the Royal Navy Series) – January 2010
Sail Away: A Trilogy by Lee Rowan (revised from Linden Bay version) – March 2010
The Glass Minstrel by Hayden Thorne – Fall 2010
And we have cover art for the August releases! 
Cheyenne Publishing will only be publishing the print versions of the former Linden Bay titles. To find out about the eBook versions please visit Bristlecone Pine Press.
For all you eBook lovers out there who don't have a Kindle device, The Filly is now available at Mobipocket and is also available at All Romance eBooks. These eBook versions have been published by Bristlecone Pine Press. Don't go there expecting to get a PDF of the book because Bristlecone doesn't deal with PDFs due to security issues. The mobipocket reader is a free download that lets you read eBooks on your PC, so now you have no excuses.
Well, I’m finally to the climax of Not to Reason Why. If it’s possible, this is part of the story I have most been looking forward to writing but at the same time dreading it as well. The battle scene is a logistical nightmare to write, and I’ve been freshening up on my research to prepare for it.
I almost never share work-in-progress, un-edited, but here are the last two paragraphs I wrote yesterday:
( A little peek, if you dare )
Author Mel Keegan has created this fabulous new wiki GLBT Bookshelf. Anyone can join for free, and once Mel has accepted you in, you can edit away! It's quite addicting, setting up an author page, adding your book into different categories, booklists and what-not. You do need a basic understanding of HTML code, which most anyone who runs a blog should have anyway. The only little catch is that the whole site is one big co-op and Mel will be running periodic advertising campaigns which all participants are expected to pitch in a dollar or two each time. But considering what a great resource it is and all the publicity it is capable of generating, I think a couple of dollars a few times a year is quite a bargain.
Tales from Lost Voices in Battle
This month for the very first time on Amazon, my monthly Kindle sales have eclipsed my print sales for "The Filly" I find this quite disheartening. I imagine it is because the number of people who now own Kindle devices has finally reached a point to seriously contend with print buyers. I know, it's the way of the future and it saves trees, but I like my print books!!
Now that contracts are in order, I am pleased to announce the novellas that will be included in the as-yet-untitled historical military anthology:
Blessed Isle by Alex Beecroft – 1790 British Age-of-Sail
Not to Reason Why by Mark R. Probst – 1876 US Cavalry
No Darkness by Jordan Taylor – 1915 British WWI
Our One and Only by E. N. Holland – 1944-1985 US WWII and aftermath
Hopefully we will select a title and get some cover art soon. The anthology will be published in January 2010 by Cheyenne Publishing and Bristlecone Pine Press.
I rarely go to movies anymore, as I prefer the comfort of my home theater, but every once in a while a picture comes along that we just can’t wait for on video. So we went to see “Star Trek” and loved it. It had a great sense of humor about the original lore, and was brilliant in poking fun at the clichés of the series and yet still managing such reverence to the franchise. The acting was great and the whole look and feel of the film was edgy. Casting was perfect as well, in fact to get the guy who plays Spock, did they clone Leonard Nimoy? And for all the die-hards out there complaining about the discrepancies, get off it because ( spoiler under the cut )I do wish they would have thrown in a wee bit of gayness just for kicks, since Roddenberry had promised to introduce gay storylines to the series before he died. For some odd reason the Star Trek Universe seems a bit devoid of homosexuality.
The deadline for submissions for the Historical Military Novella Anthology has finally passed. We were pleasantly surprised to receive quite a good number of entries. I won’t disclose how many or from whom. I do wish I could publish them all as there is some exceptional talent involved, but unfortunately there are only two spots to fill. I have a really good feeling that this anthology may do very well. It is such an exciting project to put together. Once the final selections have been made and contracts are in place, we will make an announcement with all the details.
I’m not going to start another rant. I’ll just respond with two small points. First, I am in agreement with Professor Shirky in that, as I have stated before, I believe that it was an honest mistake on Amazon’s part. Second, the call-to-arms, while it may not have been a completely fair indictment, did serve one useful purpose in that it brought to light some problems with Amazon’s cataloging practices that were not being resolved by individual author complaints.
And speaking of weird cataloging algorithms gone haywire, can anyone explain to me why Tower.com considers this book list to be Christian anthologies?
