Hop Against Homophobia, Bi- and Transphobia

Yep, it’s a beautiful, big colourful button. With one helluva message. DISCRIMINATION IS BAD. There, I said it. Homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic discrimination is a very serious issue.

 

Let me very honest. I’m not gay, transgender, gender fluid, lesbian, homosexual or any other label society chooses to put upon people who are classed as ‘different’ from the norm (according to ‘set society’ stands at least). For who the hell we are we to define ‘normal’ ?

I am a ‘straight’ woman-(another bloody label) – who has been married to the same man for thirty years. But that doesn’t stop me getting on my soapbox and telling you I abhor any form of discrimination.

And the people for whom this post is in support of have faced this in buckets. They have battles to fight and a war to win.

One such story was recently showcased in an interview I did for Divine Magazine with Claire and Cas Potterton. Cas is a fourteen year old youth who used to be Megan. You can read the article here – Claire and Cas Potterton interview

You can also read author Diane Nelson’s post on the same subject here. Diane is watching her son transform into a daughter before her eyes.

And yes, there are victories. I know that these victories are hard won, that there has been a lot of heartache and angst in the process and that there is still oh so much work to do. Lives have been destroyed, people have destroyed themselves after being tainted with the stigma of being ‘different’. But there is wonderful and untiring work being done by so many people around the world to get their voice out there and tell people that they are simply human beings regardless of gender or sexuality.

Colour, religion, beliefs, sexuality – these are all simply facets of life that contribute to our growth as human beings. Which colour, which religion, which beliefs and which sexuality –these are all irrelevant. Instead we have a person who chooses to live their life in harmony with other people. Isn’t that what life is all about? A phrase I think that has been so overworked that it seems to have lost its meaning unless used in cliché ridden conversations and writings is Live and Let Live. But it still has value.

rainbow in the hands

From research I’ve done, it appears that this proverb is Dutch in origin and is first recorded in Ancient Law Merchant by G. De Malynes, published in 1622. It was later included in a book of English proverbs collected by John Ray in 1678. This is what it is defined as being –

Run your own life the way you want to, and let others do the same; be tolerant of differences.

Remember the Christmas Truce of 1914? Both sides of the opposing armies laid down their arms and formed a truce to come together as a group of people just trying to beat the cold, the hunger, the death, the grief and the need to be with other human beings in peace and in harmony.  Their differences were forgotten. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could nurture this in every second of every day? If children didn’t have be taught that being different in any way isn’t a sin or an aberration or even any business of those damn busybodies and naysayers out there.

So for me being a member of this wonderful LGBTQ community we have supporting these rights means I care. I support the fight, the drive to take away the imperfections so that life can be the same for all, no matter what their sexual or gender persuasion. And I hope that qualifies me to join this amazingly feisty and passionate band of people and rejoice in their victories.

You can read more about this initiative to fight discrimination here:

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (May 17th)

http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/

If you’d like to find out more about this hop, then head down here

http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.

Want to follow the hop ?

http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=644125FF-AACF-4A13-A08A-696A562D8FB3

GIVEAWAY  (winner chosen after 24th May)

There is a giveaway  – I’m giving away an e-book to two lucky winners- winner’s choice – of any one of my e-books -and this is what you have to do –

Comment on my post, leave me your email address and please follow my blog. That’s it. Then what I’ll do is using this site-  www.random.org – I’ll choose a winner from the comments and contact you and we can take it from there.

I hope you enjoyed this post and please visit the other blogs on the tour hop!

 

 

Can we prevent suicide? We CAN help those in need..

An amazing group of authors have agreed to donate a portion of their May 2015 books sales to the Keith Milano Memorial Fund at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

I’m proud to say that for the second year I’m one of these authors supporting Denise Milano Sprung and the Keith Milano Memorial Fund. It’s a very worthwhile cause and one that I believe we should all be supporting.

 

The books involved in my contributions are listed below. They are the first three books in my Men Of London series.

Love You Senseless

Sight and Sinners

Suit Yourself

You can find the listing of all the authors and the books involved by clicking on the link below

www.keithmilano.org

 

 

The Keith Milano Memorial Fund was established to help raise awareness about the devastating and deadly disease that is mental illness.  Our hope is that by having the strength to say that Keith was “Bipolar” we can strip away the stigma.

If anyone wishes to make a direct donation to the Keith Milano Memorial Fund they can do that HERE.

Our goal is to raise awareness about mental illness and to get people talking…..

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-24; the US loses 22 Vets a day to suicide, more than they lose in combat; there is one death by suicide in the US every 13 minutes. These statistics are scary but together we can work to make a difference!

This year the event will also include an online auction and author takeover over 4 amazing days!! We hope that you will join us for not only some great auction items but to have an opportunity to speak with participating authors during an epic author take over event.

 

Please join us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/959416760744857/

In addition to all of these great things, thanks to the amazing design skills of author SJD Peterson, we also have custom t-shirt for sale, which part of the sales will also benefit the Keith Milano Memorial Fund.

Personal Message from Denise Milano Sprung: When Keith passed away, I made a promise to myself that he would not go quietly nor would he be forgotten. It is with the help of all of you that 10 years later, I am able to keep this promise and most of all to be able to help others who may be suffering in silence.

Thank you does not seem like enough. So please know that from the bottom of my heart to the depths of my soul, every one-click of these books helps others and continues to reduce the stigma that is associated with mental illness. THANK YOU for all you do and for spreading the word and for opening your hearts to help others.

 

Fund information:

Keith Milano Memorial Fund

140 Adams Ave Suite B-12

Hauppauge NY 11788

www.keithmilano.org

https://www.facebook.com/keithamilano

@MilanoFund

direct donation http://bit.ly/MilanoFund

#isupportmentalhealthawareness

The Keith Milano Memorial Fund benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).  http://www.afsp.org/

Donations at the end of the May Mental Awareness Event will be made by the authors directly to The Keith Milano Memorial Fund at AFSP. Keith’s fund is a self-directed memorial fund. 100% of the money is spent on programs and research programs selected by the Milano / Sprung family

For examples of programs:  http://www.keithmilano.org/#info

AFSP is the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education, and to reaching out to people with mood disorders and those affected by suicide.

AFSP is a fully accredited 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization incorporated in the state of Delaware with primary offices in New York City. Federal tax ID # is 13-3393329. AFSP’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) number is 10545.

All donations to AFSP are tax deductible.

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/8032cec7348/?

 

 

Freaking Piracy gets me hot under the collar

 

 

 

 

I’m about to rant a bit so forgive me. Something came to light recently which made my temper flare and it takes a lot to do that. However, I will note something that is quite true:

 

What, you may ask, has caused mild mannered me to erupt like the Fountain of Doom and throw swearwords and profanities about like confetti? Pirates, that’s what. Not the ‘Arghh, me ‘earties’ kind, ‘cos I rather like them, but rather the low life, back stabbing, waste of a human skin, cowardly, pathetic  individuals who think they have a right to take an author’s blood, sweat and tears and give it away for free.

Recently Ena Burnette posted something on her Facebook page about a blogger, entrusted with the pre-sales copies of various authors books, who then proceeded to load them on his/her site and give them away as free downloads. This is the gist of that conversation.

 

It took a while but finally the blogger became known to some, me included. I’m looking into things before naming and shaming anyone as I think it’s important to have all the facts first. Once I find out 100% I’ll have no compunction doing just that- telling everyone about this person.

Now this sort of thing has all sorts of ramifications for bloggers, readers, publishers and authors alike. None of them are very positive.

The facts

Authors rely on beta readers, pre-release readers and bloggers and reviewers to spread the word for their work, sometimes pre-release. They do this by generously providing free copies of their books in the formats needed, with the provision that they are kept under wraps and not offered out for sale or download anywhere other than where the author and publisher chooses to put them. There is no contract drawn up. There is no legal binding agreement. It’s done on trust and to build the relationships between all the parties.

Authors spend months and years creating a work that while we hope it delights and enthuses our fans, we also hope to earn money out of. I have a full time day job I need to keep because my book sales don’t make enough for me to give up work and become a full time writer. I’m one of thousands in this boat. So for me, taking my work and offering it for free when it isn’t even yours to give away, is a great sin. It’s a cardinal sin and one that I cannot condone.

What being a dishonest reader/blogger/reviewer means to the genre and the industry (my WCS- Worst Case Scenario)

• Remember the Circle Of Trust from the film with Robert de Niro and Ben Stiller – Meet The Fockers? Meet the f**kers who break it.
• Breaking that trust could mean this:
  • Authors may be loath to give away copies of their books to anyone who hasn’t signed in blood and given them their first born to hold as ransom.
  • Publishers may be loath to allow authors to release titles in free books because they lose too much control. Piracy is growing and becoming a universal truth. If someone can get something for free, they will. A lot of my time is spent tracking down piracy sites and getting Cease and Desist orders for them
  • Those bona fide trusted readers who perform the invaluable service of reading and reviewing, ready for launch date- they will lose out because of this.
  • The bona fide bloggers and review sites who rely on authors to give them free books to maintain the content on their site –as we all know Content is King– will suffer. They might have to enter into legal agreements just to read a book. Something that should be a pleasure has turned into pain.
  • Suspicion will reign supreme and it could become a witch hunt, like we all know these things can become. We’ve seen enough of it lately.
  • Innocent people’s reputations may suffer as they become inadvertently tarnished.
  • Authors lose money !! Fact. We may love what we do and it might be a passion but it’s nice to be able to make a living out of it so we can write more books for you to enjoy.
  • Publishers lose money. And they can only allow it to continue for so long, especially if it is a small press business.
  • Bottom line – all the damn fun is sucked out of the pleasure writers have writing and bloggers have blogging and readers have reading.

I am therefore sending this dishonest blogger this virtual curse, in the hope it reaches them in some way, shape or form. Warning- DON’T mess with the wrong people. I’m not too worried about the Power of Three on this one. I’ll take it if it comes back and hits me in the backside. It will be worth it.

 Maroul paseter, maroul presa, maroul futura, Vi porynya, catoute ley corupsa, Ven thomi, mil zaira dur morde, Ai Kaquima d’Roiz.”

May their car break down, their face erupt in warts and boils, may they lose their job, have seven years of bad luck and get haemorrhoids. Huge ones. And look like this…

 

 

And here endeth the rant.  Publishers and authors really need a better way of dealing with piracy and dishonest people like this. Something more robust needs to happen to protect our intellectual property ; somewhere where we can share and be kept informed of incidents like this, as a writing community. I don’t believe enough is being done and if it is, then we don’t seem to know about it.

This is a great paragraph by an author called Melissa E. Petreshock whose book, Fire of Stars and Dragons was downloaded illegally over 25000 times. Yep. 25k. Imagine what you could have done with that money had you received it.

Know your limits. US Copyright laws, cease and desist letters, careful monitoring, and all the actions you take can only get you so far. *big fat sad face*Not all sites make it easy or even possible for the average author (or publisher) to find their source or any means to email a letter demanding they stop providing these illegal copies of your books. (Read that as “STEALING FROM YOU.”)You can (and should) tweet and Facebook, blog and Tumblr, and any other means of shouting from the internet rooftops, (I highly encourage this behavior.) letting readers know that the illegal downloading of eBooks is wrong. It hurts authors. It hurts publishers. It hurts the industry.

WE NEED TO MAKE MORE NOISE AND BE HEARD!!

This group is one I belong to and which you can join to leave links and details of the pirates.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AuthorsAgainstE-BookTheft/info

Here are some recent article links on the subject.

http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/ebook-piracy-becomes-a-top-concern

https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/advice-and-support/fraud-and-economic-crime/pipcu/Pages/How-PIPCU-operates.aspx

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/63357-the-piracy-problem.html

http://badredheadmedia.com/2014/07/09/5-tips-handling-dreaded-ebook-pirates-guest-macpetreshock/

http://gregbarron.com/resources/ebook-piracy-a-writers-perspective/

 

Suit Yourself Cover Reveal

The third book in the Men Of London series is here….and it’s pretty steamy.

You can watch the book trailer here

Animoto

 YouTube

 

Scarred both physically and emotionally after a motorcycle accident, twenty-five year old ex fashion model and porn star Oliver Brown is about to be stripped bare by flamboyant twink Leslie Scott—and they’ll rebuild love from the bottom up.

BARING THE BEAST

Twenty-five year old Oliver Brown is addicted. Two years ago, he was at the height of his career as “Nicky Starr,” fashion model, porn actor, partier without peer. Then came the accident. Hiding his scars, both emotional and physical, he’s gone into hiding. But fine clothing is some solace. A new suit by Debussy? Better even than a ride on his motorcycle Hulk or all the things he used to give and take on camera.

Enter Leslie Scott, the flamboyant, dark-haired, heel-and-tiny-short-wearing twink sent to deliver Oliver’s newest fix. A firecracker, Leslie is dapper, generous, in touch with his feminine side but all man, and as gorgeous as any garment ever made. He makes Oliver dream of ending his reclusion, of recapturing a future forever denied him. But for that to happen, Leslie would have to strip him to the bone. Only then will they rebuild life from the bottom up.

Want to find out more about the book and the characters?

Head down to www.nickystarr.co.uk  to visit his website and have a truly visual sexperience. Meet Nicky in all his glory and see what he has to say about the porn industry, love, and life in general. This is a website intended for over eighteens only and if you are easily offended, we suggest you stay away…

GOODREADS 

BOROUGHS PUBLISHING GROUP

 

 

Excerpt- Suit Yourself
“Fuck, you look so hot,” Oliver said as he leapt onto the bed and straddled Leslie’s calves. “You have the perfect arse, you know that? Tight and just waiting for me.”
Leslie shivered, those words causing goose bumps to form on his over sensitive skin. “It could be the heel-wearing,” he mused. “I like to exercise my butt muscles when I wear them and dance. They say it’s a good way to tone up.” A hot body covered his and he closed his eyes in bliss.
“You wear heels?” Oliver’s tongue licked at his ear. “That is fucking sexy. I love that image.” His voice was husky, full of desire. “Will you wear them for me one day? Let me fuck you in them?”
Leslie’s heart filled with joy. He had a picture of himself on his phone in a corset, hat and heels. He’d have to show it to Oliver one day and get his engine even more revved up.
“Oh, God yes,” he exclaimed as Oliver’s tongue trailed down his shoulder blades and back. He gripped the bed sheets tighter at the sensation. “I have this pair of red ones you’ll like, and…oh, hell yes…” His voice tailed off in pure pleasure as Oliver parted his arse cheeks and lapped at his hole. Then the bliss of having fingers inside him, opening him wide, rendered him speechless. He gyrated and made little mewling kitten noises as Oliver proceeded to probe his hole, pushing his tongue inside him with wet, sloppy sounds that made Leslie’s cock throb.
He lost himself in the feeling of being explored, dominated and well and truly prepped. When he felt the cool dribble of lube at his hole and between his cheeks he sighed in relief and pushed his backside toward the man currently taking him to such pleasurable heights. When his hips were pulled up and Oliver’s cock nudged his entrance, Leslie pushed back and groaned as it sank deep inside him.

 

 

Pre-order/Buy Links

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon Germany

Amazon Canada

Amazon Australia

Amazon France

Amazon Italy